Police warn
Fake children via Whatsapp: Scammers take money out of the pockets of worried parents
© Yui Mok / PA Wire / DPA
The “grandchild trick” is evolving: the Bad Segeberg police department warns of a new scam in which alleged children report with a new number and ask for money – as soon as possible.
Suddenly, a stranger’s phone number calls via Whatsapp – your child writes. The mobile is broken and you need the money immediately. The bank details and the request for real-time wire transfers of thousands of euros follow. What seems absurd at first glance is becoming a nuisance in Schleswig-Holstein – and it works!
“Broken cell phone: money is needed”
To die Bad Segeberg Police Department warns in a recent message about this fairly new scam, which is spreading mainly via Whatsapp. According to this, several people had reported who should have been withdrawn from their money with the same procedure. His son, nameless, of course, sent a message and asked for help: the cell phone was broken.
In the course of the scam, several requests for large sums of money follow. In the specific cases that the police received, it was between 2,600 and 4,600 euros. What the alleged children need so much money for is unclear from the officials’ report. It would be too much for a new cell phone.
But the emergency situation works: the criminal police report several cases in which the concerned parents have sent the money without hesitation. And as desired by the real-time transfer. The authors ask for it because with such a payment there is no possibility to initiate a chargeback or ask the bank for help. What has gone is gone.
Beware of unknown contacts critically
The police recommend being extremely sensitive to messages from unknown contacts. As with the grandson makeup, the authors rely on emotional blindness and quick reactions that leave no room for reflection. Officials write that financial inquiries should never be answered via text message, email or phone call.
The easiest thing to do after such contact is to immediately call the person who would answer with the new phone number. Very often it is learned in a few minutes that no contact has been established and that other people are hiding behind the payment requests.
You should then report him to the police, they said. Even if you don’t know who is behind the number, you should write it down, hand it over to the officials and block it on your mobile.
