Fraud SMS with Family Trick on the Rise Again

Messages with the so-called "family trick," i.e., alleged emergency calls from children or grandchildren, are particularly common.

Increase in Fraudulent SMS with Daughter, Son, and Grandchild Trick

The perpetrators use messages that seem familiar, like "Hello Mom, my phone is broken. Write to me on WhatsApp," to obtain sensitive data or money. "Three-quarters of all complaints in May were related to this area," said Klaus M. Steinmaurer, Managing Director of RTR in the field of telecommunications and post.

Particularly insidious: The fake messages can seemingly appear in the existing SMS thread with banks, authorities, or services like PayPal. The reason for this is the manipulation of the sender ID by the perpetrators - a technique that further misleads gullible users.

What to Do in Case of Suspected Fraud?

"If my child is in an emergency situation, many react immediately – and that's exactly what fraudsters exploit," warns Steinmaurer. The emotional closeness to the supposedly affected person makes many victims act uncritically.

RTR advises always checking the content of messages carefully and contacting official channels like customer hotlines directly in case of uncertainty. Responses to unknown numbers via WhatsApp or SMS should be avoided.

Reporting Protects Others

Suspicious messages or calls can be reported on the platform www.rufnummernmissbrauch.at. There, RTR also provides information about current fraud schemes and offers tips on protection against digital deception attempts.

(Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.