LKA warns against automated calls, for example to make WhatsApp contact
Many people's phones are currently ringing with an automated message asking them to contact WhatsApp, for example. The LKA Lower Saxony warns.
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On the Polizei-Praevention.de portal, the Lower Saxony State Office of Criminal Investigation (Landeskriminalamt, LKA) warns of a current increase in calls with automated messages urging people to contact them via WhatsApp, for example. These are apparently dubious job offers.
"Hello, I need to talk to you about a job. Please add me on WhatsApp," is the message usually said, writes the LKA Lower Saxony. These calls seem very widespread, and the heise-online editorial team has already received them. The call numbers are always different and usually use international prefixes. After the announcement, the caller hangs up immediately. The LKA writes that the origin and actual intention behind the measure are currently still unknown.
Dubious job offers
Law enforcement officials suspect that this is an initial contact for dubious job offers. The fraudsters behind the scam attempt to hire victims as financial agents or goods agents and then abuse them as money launderers. Previously, detectives have already seen scams where calls or simple messages via WhatsApp tried to persuade recipients to accept a "job offer".
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The officers believe there is a risk that the perpetrators will demand sensitive personal data if the job offer is accepted, such as photographed ID cards or the completion of supposed application documents; they could also demand personal photos or account details. This seems plausible in this context, but the perpetrators can misuse the data for other scams, explains the LKA Lower Saxony.
The police officers at the LKA advise people not to follow the request to add their phone number to their WhatsApp contacts. It is better to block the numbers or report them as spam – Current smartphones offer this option. Furthermore, sensitive data such as ID photos or account details should not be given to strangers. You should never provide your own postal address or bank accounts to receive parcels or to transfer or forward money, as there is a real risk of money laundering. Potential victims should also not create any accounts at the request of the callers, for example for alleged product tests by banks or for the supposed verification of personal details via video ID procedures.
(dmk)
