2024-07-17 11:11:53
Fraud Ticker
Beware of this supposed email from AOK
Updated on 17.07.2024 – 12:15Reading time: 6 min.
Fraudsters are always coming up with new ways to cheat people out of their money. We’ll show you how they’re currently being ripped off.
There is a real wave of rip-offs currently hitting consumers. Fraudsters are trying to gain access to sensitive data, credit cards and accounts, primarily through digital channels. You can always read the latest scams they are currently using here.
The NRW consumer advice center warns of fraudulent emails that are disguised as AOK messages and are currently circulating more and more frequently. According to the report, criminals are using this scam to obtain sensitive personal data. The email claims that customers urgently need to apply for a new health card because the old one is no longer valid and the insurance company will no longer cover the costs.
These claims are lies, according to the consumer advice center. Anyone who clicks on the “Send my request” button ends up on a fake website and provides their data to the criminals, who then use it for further abuse such as identity theft. It is therefore best to move such emails immediately to the spam folder and under no circumstances open the attachments.
If you are unsure, you should contact your health insurance company directly – but be careful when looking for contact details. Always use the number on your health insurance card or enter the official web address directly in your browser. If you have already fallen for this trick, you should report it to the police immediately and also inform your health insurance company.
The Sparkasse is currently warning about a scam on its website. Specifically, it involves letters that are sent in the name of the German Savings Banks and Giro Association. In them, customers are asked to update their personal data. According to the Sparkasse’s statement, attempts are being made to lure alleged victims to a website using a QR code.
If you scan the QR code, you will be taken to a website that asks for your online banking access data, the number of your Sparkasse card/credit card and other personal information. The Sparkasse strongly warns against entering private data there. If you have already done so, however, you should contact the bank immediately and have your online banking access and your Sparkasse card and credit card blocked.
At the checkout in the supermarket, you can often find stands with various gift cards from Amazon, Spotify & Co. Customers should now be careful when buying the small cards. A new scam ensures that the money paid in does not end up on the voucher, but directly in the fraudsters’ account, warns the Erfurt police.
The perpetrators cover the barcodes on the cards with a manipulated version and then hang the vouchers back on the sales stands. When customers pay money into them at the checkout, the money is not deposited on the voucher but on the perpetrators’ account. Customers only notice the fraud when they realize that the voucher cannot be redeemed.
Anyone who has fallen into the trap should “act quickly and report it to the police and also inform the provider that fraud has occurred,” Erfurt police told Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR).
Will customers get their money back? The legal situation is unclear, according to Ralf Reichertz, head of the consumer law department at the Thuringian consumer advice center. However, the consumer advocate believes that the supermarket operator has a responsibility. He must pay the customer the correct amount, he told MDR. He also advises having the barcodes checked carefully at the checkout beforehand.
The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) is warning of a new form of the grandparent scam. “Artificial intelligence will soon make it possible to perfectly imitate the real voices of grandchildren,” BSI President Claudia Plattner told “Stern”. The person being called will then no longer be able to tell the difference.
Plattner advises consumers to inform their grandparents about these types of deception attempts. “It’s best to practice this situation with grandma and grandpa and agree on a code word that you would say in case of doubt – for example, the name of your first pet,” says the expert.