Warning about phishing calls (also called scam calls)  [02.08.22]

Phishing calls (also known as scam calls) are currently on the rise again. They try to involve you in a conversation in order to obtain personal data such as usernames and passwords, for example. Another aim of such phishing calls is to get you to install certain apps that the attackers can use to gain access to your computer or persuade you to transfer money.

Never disclose personal or business information, do not initiate a conversation, but hang up as soon as possible and do not call back.

A still current example from the Bundesnetzagentur: Users receive a call in the name of Europol or other supposed international police authorities ("Interpol", "Federal Police", "FBI", etc.):

• When the call is answered, a recorded announcement is usually heard.
• The person called is asked to press the "One" key.
• After pressing the key, the call is forwarded to a person who requests - sometimes in English - that personal data be handed over or that money be transferred.

German telephone numbers (mobile telephone numbers or local telephone numbers) are transmitted as sender IDs for the calls. According to the Bundesnetzagentur, these numbers have been manipulated. The calls originate abroad.

Tips for those who receive such calls:

• End the call
• Ignore the request to press a key
• Especially if you have been harmed: file a criminal complaint at your local police station.

For more information on the misuse of phone numbers, see www.bundesnetzagentur.de/rufnummernmissbrauch.