Federal Criminal Police Office warns of phishing text messages with new scam

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The Federal Criminal Police Office (BK) is warning of a wave of phishing text messages. Since the beginning of the month, messages have been circulating claiming that their allegedly collected loyalty or bonus points would soon expire, as the BK announced in a press release on Wednesday. To redeem these points in time, a link is sent that leads to an external website. This is nothing more than a sophisticated attempt at fraud.

According to BK, the fake site makes users believe that they can choose an attractive gift, often a high-quality electrical appliance. In the further course of the “order”, credit card details or other sensitive payment information are requested. Once these have been entered, in many cases, unauthorized debits are made from the victim’s account. The damage is often considerable.

According to the BK, phishing attacks usually follow a clear pattern: contact is made via electronic channels such as SMS, email, or messenger services. The perpetrators pretend to be a trustworthy organization or company. The aim is to gain the recipient’s trust and persuade them to disclose confidential information. This includes passwords, credit card numbers, or access data to online accounts.

Around 20 cases of this scam so far
Since calendar week 20, around 20 cases of this scam have been reported to the Federal Criminal Police Office. The financial loss known to date amounts to around 27,000 euros. However, it is assumed that the number of unreported cases is higher.

Anyone who has fallen for one of these phishing text messages should act quickly and contact the company that allegedly sent the message to report the incident and clarify further steps. Affected credit cards and accounts should be blocked as soon as possible if data has been disclosed. Passwords to affected online services should be changed. If it is no longer possible to log in, the respective provider should be contacted. Last but not least, account statements should be checked, and suspicious orders should be canceled.

In this context, the Federal Criminal Police Office pointed out that reputable companies never ask users to enter sensitive data by text message or e-mail. Users should not click on any links in suspicious messages or open any attachments. Passwords and TANs should never be passed on, either by e-mail, via a link, or by telephone. Messages should first be checked, for example, whether you are even a customer of the company. Finally, only official websites or apps should be used to check content, and customer service should be contacted directly if you are unsure.