You may be up Phone fraud fell for it and don’t know if and how to act? A spam protection expert gives two tips.
| When in doubt, ask the following questions: – Where did you get my number? – Who are you calling for? – Why are you calling me with a suppressed number? |
On Phone Fraud: When To Show?
According to § 7 of the UWG (law against unfair competition), spam calls are considered “unreasonable harassment”. The number must not be suppressed for advertising purposes. A fine may be imposed in the event of a violation. If you get regular calls from a spam number and suspect phone fraud – should you go to the police and file a complaint?
According to Thomas Wrobel, spam protection expert at Clever Dialer, it depends on whether damage has occurred as a result of a spam call. For example, if you are robbed of your money in a phone fraud, that is the case. You should also report this if you are stalked or sexually harassed – even if the number is withheld. In this case, the telephone fraud is more than an administrative offense. It may be a criminal offense.
Examples of phone fraud
Thomas Wrobel explains with two examples when a report is necessary to the police and when you can act yourself:
Example: report to the police
“Max’s unpaid electricity bill Max was informed by phone that his electricity would soon be turned off because of an open electricity bill. For fear of sitting in the dark soon, he immediately transferred the requested amount. A short time later, Max became skeptical and contacted his provider, who knew nothing about an open invoice. Since Max was actually cheated out of a certain amount of money, he reports to the police the next day. “
| You have been better protected since December 1st, 2021 “In future, providers will have to give you a contract summary in text form (eg a PDF by e-mail or in printed form) before you conclude a telephone contract (for landline, internet and / or mobile phone connection),” says the consumer advice center. |
Example: act yourself
“Pia’s Ping Call Dilemma Pia received five calls from the same number on her cell phone in the past hour. Your cell phone only rings very briefly, the supposed caller seems to be waiting for a callback. Pia doesn’t let these so-called ping calls bother her, but instead loads a spam protection app onto her cell phone to block the number. In addition, she reports the number to the Federal Network Agency. In most cases, a police visit is unsuccessful because such calls often come from abroad. “
This is how you act yourself
If you are talking to someone on the phone or cell phone and are suspicious, be sure to ask these three questions to debunk possible spam calls. Also, pay attention to these three sentences, as they could also indicate phone fraud. You can save these unknown numbers directly as a spam number.
Source: Clever Dialer