Ten thousands complaints about misuse of phone numbers
A package is held up at customs, would it be sent on after paying a few euros? What's acceptable is scamming: The package doesn't exist and those who transfer money are falling into the hands of swindlers. This is becoming more common among people.
With fraudulent SMS and chat messages, criminals have attempted to swindle mass payments from unsuspecting citizens once again. According to the Federal Network Agency, there were 35,034 complaints in the first half of 2024, which is around 20,000 fewer than in the previous year.
The number may have decreased, but the complaint level remains high, the agency stated. In one third of the complaints (11,152), it was about a scam, also called the "Grandparent Trick": Someone poses as a relative or close friend via SMS or chat message, who can't phone right now but urgently needs money. Some scam victims - often older people - fall for it and actually transfer money.
In other cases, criminals disguise themselves as a bank or parcel delivery service and ask for outstanding fees to be paid or to click on a link where personal data should be entered. By doing so, criminals try to extract data, with which they later want to swindle money or use in other scam schemes.
Authority shuts down numbers
In cases of number misuse, the Federal Network Agency can intervene and shut down the number. According to the statements, there were 2,170 shutdowns in the first half of 2024. However, it often concerns foreign mobile phone numbers, then the German supervisory authority can do little.
The text messages are often clumsily formulated and with a little vigilance, inconsistencies become apparent to the reader. However, some readers react hastily and enter data or transfer money without being suspicious - the criminals rely on the consumer's carelessness or good nature when they send out their fraud messages en masse. The dark figure of cases that do not lead to complaints at the Federal Network Agency could be high.
The Federal Network Agency plays a crucial role in consumer protection, particularly in the realm of telecommunications and internet usage. They released a guide to help individuals identify and avoid scamming attempts, such as the infamous "Grandparent Trick." Criminality in advertising, often through misleading SMS and chat messages, remains a concern, leading to numerous complaints—although the number decreased in the first half of 2024.
