Smishing
Parcel SMS scam: Thousands of complaints about rip-offs
A package is stuck in customs until you pay outstanding customs fees? Anyone who receives such information via SMS should be warned – because it is a rip-off scam by criminals.
Thousands of citizens have turned to the Federal Network Agency because fraudsters have sent SMS messages containing package announcements to their cell phones. In response to a request, the authority said that 11,396 written complaints were received last year about the alleged delivery of a package. Although that was 303 fewer than in 2023, the level of complaints remains high.
The Federal Network Agency investigates the complaints and, if necessary, has the number from which the SMS was sent switched off. However, the criminals often have foreign numbers and such cases usually come to nothing.
When it comes to SMS, there is sometimes talk of customs fees that the recipient of the SMS has to pay – after which they will receive a package. Other text messages say that a package did not arrive because address information was missing – the recipient should please click on the link sent and enter personal data on the website they then come to.
The content of the SMS is false, the alleged packages do not even exist – in fact, they are part of a scam called “Smishing”, a combination of SMS and phishing. You should not click on the links in the SMS. And if you have done so, you should just not enter any data on the websites.
With a little common sense, the rip-off scam can be quickly identified. On the one hand, the SMS messages sometimes contain many spelling errors, and on the other hand, the names of the websites could be suspicious. Although the names of parcel service providers such as DHL are included in the Internet addresses, they are supplemented by extra words, such as “dhl.chicbox…” or “dhl.dtcqgg…”. A DHL spokesman emphasizes that the company never asks for personal data or demands money via SMS for normal packages.
dpa
Source: Stern
