Bonn police Police warn about fraudulent text messages announcing parcel deliveries
Berlin/Bonn · Police are warning people about a new scam in Germany. Notifications are being sent to cell phones, announcing that a parcel is arriving. The message is a fake.
Bonn police are warning people about a new scam. A notification is being sent to cell phones, telling the recipient that a package will be arriving. The person is told to proof the delivery information and accept it by clicking on a link. The message, which may vary in wording depending on the text, reads: „Ihr Paket wurde verschickt. Bitte überprüfen und akzeptieren Sie es.“ (“Your package has been sent. Please proof and accept it.”) It is then followed by a link ending in "duckdns.org". The police stress that the text is a fake and it is dangerous, users should not click on the link. In the worst case, malware could be installed on the cell phone, which could then receive and send further texts and possibly allow the smartphone to be remotely controlled.
In the last few days, there have been several reports of this kind in Bonn. Earlier, the Berlin criminal police had already drawn attention to this scam via Twitter. The text is currently circulating nationwide.
Bonn police are advising cell phone users to take a closer look at messages of unknown origin and delete them if in doubt. In addition, users should never click on links from unknown senders or agree to the installation of unfamiliar apps. Users of Android devices in particular should be careful in this regard and deactivate the "Install unknown apps" option. Bonn police further explain that it can be helpful to set up a third-party block with the mobile provider. This could prevent unnecessary subsequent costs. If users have already clicked on the link, the safest way to remove the malware is to reset the phone to factory settings.
