Sparkasse warns twice: empty accounts after SMS fraud

Sparkasse customers are repeatedly the victims of phishing attempts. Scammers are currently trying to loot accounts in two ways.

Dortmund: Online banking should make everyday life easier. Quickly pay a bill, make a past due transfer, quickly check your account balance. Everything is possible in the digital age. Unfortunately, unauthorized people gain access to accounts too, and only via SMS.

Sparkasse warns twice: empty accounts after SMS fraud

The Savings Bank is already warning about it. Two scams are currently circulating, with which fraudsters want to appropriate money from other accounts. Both work by sending a message to the victim’s cell phone.

In the first variant, an SMS, in which the sender is supposed to be the savings bank, indicates that the account is restricted for “security reasons”. The recipient is then redirected to a website via a link to bypass it. This is a phishing site, the financial institution warned in a statement dated December 8, 2022.

Savings Bank customers receive dubious SMS: Two scams in circulation to empty the account

On the website in question, the account holder is asked to provide online banking details and the Sparkasse card number. This can have devastating consequences. Sparkasse explains: “Please do not enter any data on phishing pages. Otherwise your data could be misused by scammers, e.g. to call on behalf of your Sparkasse and request a TAN.

This TAN can be used to make a fraudulent transfer or to create a digital Sparkasse card, which in turn can be used for purchases. The account could be wiped out in a very short time.

SMS contact: Sparkasse customers beware

But it’s not just an SMS about an account restriction that should set off alarm bells for all Sparkasse customers. In a second deception attempt, the scammers write about a pushTAN registration that is about to expire.

Under the guise of preventing this, victims of the fraud attempt are also sent to a phishing site. There the access data to online banking, telephone number, date of birth, Sparkasse card data will be delivered, as announced by the bank in a message dated December 12.

Do not disclose sensitive account data: Sparkasse warns

PushTAN users are also asked to release an order. With this information, scammers can also gain access to the account.

Here too, Sparkasse warns against the transmission of sensitive data. If this has already happened, the bank’s computer emergency team appeals: “Please contact your savings bank immediately regarding the blocking of your access to online banking and any digital card that may have been created.”

Anyone who receives an SMS from the savings bank in the future has an urgent obligation to treat it with caution. If you are not sure, you should contact the respective institute in advance. Personal data, on the other hand, must not be transmitted under any circumstances after such a message.

Rubric list: © Michael Gstettenbauer/Imago; Westend61/Imago; Collage: Sabrina Wagner/RUHR24