Warning of fraud scam: victim search with Bitcoin paper wallets
A transparent bag on the way contains a receipt and Bitcoin paper wallet. Anyone who visits the URL in the QR code can become a victim of fraud.
(Image: Image created with AI in Bing Designer by heise online / dmk)
The Bavarian State Office of Criminal Investigation is warning of a scam in which the perpetrators place transparent bags with supposed Bitcoin paper wallets and an alleged deposit slip on sidewalks. However, the QR code on the wallet leads to a fake website that aims to take money out of potential victims' pockets.
(Image:Â LKA Bayern)
The transparent bags contain a supposed Bitcoin paper wallet, which is used to store Bitcoins in paper form, the LKA Bayern explained in last week's press release. Next to it is a fake deposit slip showing the sum of 10,000 euros. The fraudsters want to give the impression that cryptocurrency in Bitcoin has actually been paid into the wallet.
QR code leads to fraudulent website
The QR code printed on the paper wallet directs potential victims to a fake website. There, the perpetrators attempt to obtain personal data. For a fee of around three percent, the money allegedly stored on the wallet can be paid out.
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If victims enter their account details there, the supposed withdrawal fee is debited, the Bavarian police explain further. However, this is followed by an error message and the 10,000 euros are not actually paid out.
This scam is currently occurring more frequently in the city and district of Munich. Anyone who finds such a plastic bag with a supposed Bitcoin paper wallet should never scan the printed QR code, the law enforcement officers recommend. They should hand them in at the nearest police station.
The police already observed this scam in Vienna at the beginning of the year. Now the criminals are apparently moving further north. Fraudsters are increasingly using QR codes on conventional letters or other paper forms. At the end of last year, for example, the Berlin police issued a warning about fake parking tickets with a QR code containing a link to a fraudulent portal. At the beginning of the month, the LKA Lower Saxony also warned against authentic-looking letters from banks whose QR codes led to phishing sites.
(dmk)
