The German Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) announced today to switch off 26 mobile phone numbers due to SMS phishing. This constitutes a countermeasure against numerous complaints about unsolicited advertising messages that were allegedly sent in the name of the credit card company MasterCard promising a prize of a million.
These are the details:
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SMS phishing or so-called phishing messages assure consumers a fictitious monetary win while pursuing the actual goal of obtaining personal data.
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In order to receive such an alleged profit, first, consumers are instructed to send an e-mail with a winning code to an address specified in the message. Subsequently, consumers are asked to send a copy of their ID to an alleged "logistics partner". For such SMS phishing the names and corporate design of large and well-known companies are often misused.
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Against this background, the Federal Network Agency explicitly warns consumers against responding to any mobile message of this kind.
Jochen Homann, President of the German Federal Network Agency, noted on this: "Consumers should be careful in handling their personal data. In order to protect consumers we have ordered the shutdown of the numbers used."
Source: German Federal Network Agency
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