The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) warns of fraudulent job offers on the Internet. There 1000 euros beckon if you test apps with little effort and enter personal data.
The promise sounds good: 1000 euros per month beckon with job offers on the Internet if you click through apps with your own smartphone on the couch at home. Unfortunately, the BKA warns that behind the ads, which are often aimed at job seekers, are attempts at fraud.
Test account opening in truth very real
The supposed test apps involve software from various online banks that should be put through its paces before publication. In order to analyze the app, victims are supposed to create fake accounts there, but with real data, i.e. names, addresses and ID cards. The catch: These are real accounts – with real banks.
Following these supposed tests, the victims are supposed to transmit the access data for the “test accounts” to the client. According to the BKA, the perpetrators stated that this was for “analysis purposes”. Once that is done, the recipients of the data would change all logins so that the test person no longer had access to the accounts. Even this step can be explained well within the framework of the scam.
Instead of a salary, a visit from the police follows
However, the victims should not count on a subsequent receipt of payment on their own account – but rather on a visit from the police. The reason: According to investigations by the Federal Criminal Police Office, the “test accounts” serve as deposit accounts for orders in the online drug trade and are intended to conceal the origin of the funds. If the officials track down such payment transactions, they end up with the unsuspecting app testers and not with the perpetrators.
The BKA advises to reduce the transfer of personal data on the Internet to a minimum and to pay attention to the seriousness of the provider. The police explained: “You can recognize dubious offers by the fact that contact is made via messenger services or the ad contains conspicuous spelling and grammatical errors. Above-average earnings for simple activities should also be a warning sign. Never give out sensitive data such as Identity papers, account details or other personal data on the Internet if the serious use of this data cannot be verified.”
If you have become a victim of such a scam, you should contact the nearest office directly, they say.
Source: BKA
