Watch out for the trap!

Online scammers are ripping off Vorarlberg residents again

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(Bild: Stock Adobe, Krone KREATIV)

The Vorarlberg police are currently receiving an unusually high number of reports of fraud on well-known classified ad portals. Increased caution is required, as the perpetrators are extremely cunning.

The cases of fraud documented so far have all followed a similar pattern: initially, the victims had advertised one or more items for private sale on online portals. Shortly afterwards, the first supposed prospective buyers contacted them. The subsequent "price negotiations" were usually conducted by the perpetrators outside of the classified ad portals - for example via messenger services or by email. This was, of course, maliciously intended, as this was the only way the scam could be successful: The alleged prospective buyers finally redirected the sellers to deceptively genuine-looking but fake websites of their own house bank via links sent to them. The victims were then asked to enter their online banking access data. The perpetrators then made several instant transfers abroad. Some of the losses incurred were in the five-figure range, and the sums are likely to be lost forever.

To avoid falling victim to these perfidious scams, there are some important tips to follow:

• Never use links sent to you by unknown persons.
• Only use your online banking via the access you know and check the plausibility of the Internet address in the address bar of your browser.
• Do not authorize any transactions in your online banking if you did not initiate the transaction yourself.
• Never disclose online banking authorization data (push TAN, QR code, SMS code, etc.) to potential buyers.
• Consider whether requests for data are necessary and make sense for the purchase transaction. A potential buyer only needs the IBAN to pay the purchase price and the BIC for international transfers!
• If you are not sure whether it could be an attempt at fraud, seek information from specialists or contact the police.
• You can report any suspicious activity to any police station.