Daughter-son trick

SMS scam is currently experiencing a boom again

In the daughter-son scam, contact is made by text message.

(Bild: AP)

A simple message on a cell phone causes hundreds of thousands of euros in damage every year: The daughter-son scam. The malicious text message scam is currently at its peak again.

"Another gullible victim has now transferred 6950 euros", says Martin Kaltenegger. The Salzburg detective has already seen much larger amounts of damage, but hardly any other scam comes to him as often as the text message scam with the daughter-son trick. At the beginning of July in particular, the scam was at its peak again.

Behind the supposed child hides a criminal who is after the cell phone owner's money.

(Bild: zVg)

The scam always begins with a text message in which a supposed child writes to their dad or mom that they have lost their cell phone. They should save the new number. "The first message is actually always the same," explains Kaltenegger. "We assume that a chatbot writes the first texts." If you respond promptly, this is usually the first mistake. The criminals then quickly take over themselves.

Any text message that involves money or personal data is a red flag. If in doubt, you should always call the police.

Martin Kaltenegger, Kriminalprävention beim LKA

"Always contact your own children"
They are counting on the fact that they will get the better of their victims within hours of the first text message. "In these cases, it is always advisable to contact your own children on the number you already know. If they don't respond straight away, that's no reason to panic," says Kaltenegger. If there is no response, you can also contact the police.

Martin Kaltenegger is responsible for crime prevention at the Salzburg State Office of Criminal Investigation.

(Bild: zVg)

If the fraudsters contact you by text message, it is usually superficial so as not to be discovered as a fake child. Private exchanges are quickly followed by a request to transfer money: "Dad, please transfer money to me". In most cases, an emergency is invented. "Every text message that contains a request for money is an alarm signal," says the police officer responsible for prevention at the Salzburg State Criminal Police Office. In addition to police work in the narrower sense, he also holds courses. Practically every lecture is attended by people who have already received such text messages. "You then realize how widespread the scam is."

In Austria, there were 2800 reports and 1200 cases of damage caused by daughter-son scams in 2023. 819 of these were solved. This resulted in a total loss of 4.8 million euros. In Salzburg, there were 228 reports and 88 cases in which the victims transferred money. The loss: 400,000 euros.