Whatsapp scam: This is how the scam works and how to protect yourself

Hans Christian Dirscherl

In addition to the well-known shock calls, it is primarily WhatsApp scams that keep the police on their toes. This is also the case with two current cases reported by the Bavarian police. These are, so to speak, the resumption of a well-known scam: warning of Whatsapp fraud – but telephone fraud is still a danger.

It always starts with a Whatsapp message saying that the phone number has changed: “Hello mom/dad, my cell phone is broken. Here is my new number. You can delete the old number.”

This is followed by a message asking the recipients – usually parents or grandparents – to pay a bill because they’re a bit short on cash: “Mom/Dad, can you help me out and pay a bill for me ? I’ll pay you back the money as soon as possible.” Sometimes the pretext is that you can’t do online banking with your new cell phone, so the parents should step in quickly. In the last few days alone, the Bavarian police have recorded two such attempts at fraud that actually resulted in a transfer.

How to protect yourself

If you receive a message saying the phone number has changed, first call the person on the

old

number. Then you can see immediately whether the number is still correct.

Never save unknown phone numbers as a contact without checking them.

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