Pensioners should be particularly careful with supposed contacts through the German pension insurance. Because there are currently more and more con artists posing as employees of the authority to cheat seniors out of their money.
You know the scam from previous years. Or rather, you should know them. Disguised as employees of the pension insurance, scammers try to get personal data, bank details or the money of the insured. This should take the form of a letter that looks deceptively real, an unannounced visit at home or an unexpected phone call.
The German Pension Insurance (DRV) warns that dubious calls are particularly common at the moment. The phone’s display even imitates DRV’s number. This should weigh the called in security.
A typical scam of scammers on the phone: pensioners are asked to transfer money to someone else’s account. These can be, for example, fees for the processing and payment of pension arrears and “special draws”. There are threats of pension garnishment, pension cuts or other disadvantages if payment is refused.
The Deutsche Rentenversicherung emphasizes that its employees or persons commissioned by them should never ask by telephone to transfer money domestically or even abroad. Anyone who has received a call to this effect is welcome to contact the German pension insurance service hotline on 0800 1000 4800.
The brochure “Beware of tricksters” can be downloaded here. In it, the German pension insurance presents a few scams and explains how you can best protect yourself. The brochure is not only aimed at pensioners, but also expressly at relatives and neighbors of older people and employees of nursing services, because in cases of doubt they can be valuable contacts to prevent fraud. Because a perpetrator has an easy game when he is alone with his victim. Therefore, when in doubt, those contacted should always consult a person of trust – especially if they feel under pressure.
(This article was first published on Monday, November 14, 2022.)
