Messenger fraud costs Germans an average of €1,180 – often within minutes
According to a Kaspersky study, victims in Germany lose significantly more to fraud via WhatsApp, SMS and Facebook than the global average.
High losses from fraud via WhatsApp, SMS and Facebook
According to chip.de, victims in Germany lose an average of around €1,180 through fraud via messenger services – significantly more than the global average of approximately €680. This emerges from a new study by cybersecurity company Kaspersky, which identifies WhatsApp, SMS/iMessage and Facebook as the main entry points for such attacks.
Particularly striking is the speed of the attacks. In 44 per cent of cases examined in Germany, money or personal data were stolen within 30 minutes. In every seventh case, it took less than five minutes. Email addresses, dates of birth and full names are stolen most frequently.
According to Kaspersky, perpetrators often operate across multiple channels: they switch from SMS to WhatsApp or from WhatsApp to Telegram, for example, in order to convincingly imitate everyday communication. There is also the targeted use of artificial intelligence – 74 per cent of victims in Germany believe that AI was used in the attack, for instance for deceptively realistic texts, forged voices or deepfake content.
The consequences go beyond financial damage. Many victims report anger, frustration and dismay long after the incident. Security experts recommend pausing when receiving unexpected messages, independently verifying the sender and purpose, and not disclosing sensitive data under time pressure.
The trend fits into a broader picture that the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) also warns about. According to the authority, around one in three unwanted emails now contains a phishing attempt, and 62 per cent of people have already consciously received such a message.
Criminals are no longer limiting themselves to classic emails. Smishing via SMS, quishing via QR codes and vishing via phone call all follow the same logic: time pressure, disguise and supposedly trusted senders. Security experts therefore recommend verifying payment requests and suspicious messages via a second, independent channel.
Source: Google News AT — Crime (de)