Fake police officers, fake bank employees, fake grandchildren: with numerous telephone tricks, fraudsters succeed again and again in robbing older people of their money. Stiftung Warentest has a simple and effective tip that protects against grandchildren tricks & Co.
Protection against grandchildren’s trick: delete phone book entries
“Hello grandma, it’s me, your grandson Michael.” Normal conversations between relatives start like this or something similar – but also the notorious grandchild trick in its numerous variations. Sometimes it’s the supposed grandson, sometimes it’s “the police” or “the bank” – in the end it’s always about the sudden and urgent need to transfer or hand over money somewhere.
The basic question that arises here: Where did the scammers get Grandma and Grandpa’s (landline) phone number from? The answer is amazingly simple: From the phone book. They are registered here, the fellow citizens with names that have fallen out of time, such as Hildegard, Rolf, Sabine and Dieter. A generation in which an entry in the telephone book was still a matter of course – after all, one wanted to be reachable for friends and acquaintances. Today, these directories are an ideal starting point for lousy crooks.
In a recent article, Stiftung Warentest advises delete phonebook entries Or at least abbreviate his first name. A telephone entry is “unfavorable” in view of the numerous scams.
This is how you delete yourself from the phone book
Deletion of phone book entries is direct with the telephone providers (Telekom, Vodafone, o2 etc.) possible – both online and via hotline. Our guide explains it:
To delete yourself from “Das Örtliche” and “Das Telefonbuch”, you can contact the responsible DTM Deutsche Tele Medien GmbH in Frankfurt directly. There is an online form (link) for this, in which the request can be entered.
The deletion will by the way also from the police recommended again and again: “It can make sense if older people have their entry in the phone book removed,” said Werner Häfner, spokesman for the police in Pirmasens, to SWR.
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