What needs to be done? – Phone scammers are back in high season

“Hi mom, this is my number. My mobile phone is broken, would you please write to me on WhatsApp on this number” – Many people across the country are currently receiving this message. This was also the case for a ‘Krone’ reader, who then immediately called the police emergency number 133. However, the man from Linz was told that he had to go to a police station and report the crime. “That is more than inefficient in terms of quick clarification,” he says now.

Don’t call 911
The ‘Krone’ asked the LKA fraud expert, Gerald Sakoparnig. “That makes sense. Because it’s not an emergency. The reason is that we can’t track the numbers anyway because they are generated on the internet,” he says. Moreover, there would be hundreds, if not thousands, of such messages every day. If everyone calls the emergency number, it will exceed the capacity of the police.

But he doesn’t think even an ad would make much sense. “There would be long lines in front of the offices,” he suspects. His tip: “It’s best to ignore these messages and make an issue of it with friends and family so that no one responds.”

High season before Christmas
Scammers are currently in peak season again. Before Christmas, the crooks rely on messages from so-called delivery services that supposedly have no address. The same applies here: ignore and delete. Because even if the fraudsters only steal small amounts, it doesn’t have to be that way.