Fraud via WhatsApp: how the devious 500 euro scheme works – Nordbayern

– WhatsApp users are increasingly receiving messages from supposed acquaintances asking for money. Behind this is a devious scam that exploits trust and urgency—and is surprisingly often successful. “Hey, could you lend me 500 euros for a bit? I’ll pay you back by Monday.” If you receive this or a similar message via WhatsApp, your first thought may be that a friend or colleague is experiencing a financial crunch. However, increasingly, scams are behind these kinds of requests. The principle is simple yet insidious: The perpetrators hack a WhatsApp account or convincingly replicate it. They then specifically target the victim’s contacts, often starting with a friendly and seemingly harmless message. Eventually, they follow up with a request for money, usually accompanied by a sense of urgency: “I need it by today; I’ll explain later.” This scheme is particularly dangerous because it exploits existing relationships. When a message appears to come from a genuine contact, the threshold for lending money is significantly lower. Many victims report that they only realized something was amiss after making a call or inquiry. In some instances, money was even transferred before the scam was exposed. Reports of such cases are increasing on platforms like Gutefrage.net.
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