Geneva
The fake parcel scam continues to pollute mobile phones
For the past year, the police have registered 13 complaints related to fake DHL SMS messages, but no one has been arrested.
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The fraudulent SMS seeks to induce the targets to communicate their bank details.
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Here is the fraudulent SMS received by several people a few days ago.
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The link leads to a first fake DHL page.
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Then on a second where customs fees are claimed.
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“Without action on your part your order will be returned (sic).” This SMS from a French number was recently received by several Swiss residents. This is a scam attempt but, apart from the spelling mistake, quite realistic. One reader, Tommy, almost got caught.
The message, also in German, invites you to follow a Swiss link leading to a very well-made page labeled DHL, the delivery giant. “As I’m waiting for a package, I clicked,” says Tommy. There, an email is required, then the target is directed to another page where 3.99 euros of unpaid customs fees are claimed. It is then a question of indicating its bank code to regulate the slate. There, the trap closes. Close to giving in, Tommy gave up. He did well.
This SMS phishing “is still in vogue”, note the police. It explodes during the Holidays and their flood of parcels, as we wrote in January 2022. Last year, law enforcement recorded 13 complaints related to “DHL” cases (an alert appears since May on the company’s website). The damage reaches “between 500 and 1000 fr.”, says the police, who cannot assess the extent of the scam: the spams are sent en masse; people do not file a complaint when the theft remains an attempt; and when they report a fraudulent withdrawal on their card, “they don’t necessarily make the connection” between the withdrawal and a fake DHL SMS. The crooks, whom the police say they don’t know how they get the numbers of the targets and who can act “from anywhere” play on velvet. None were arrested.
