Spot scams in the wild.
Short, practical guides to the scams currently circulating - with the same warning signs our checker uses. Readable in a few minutes. Sources: BSI, FTC, Action Fraud, consumer-protection agencies.
Active waves
Scams being reported especially often right now. Learn the warning signs before they reach you.
Phishing emails & texts
Phishing messages impersonate a bank, shop, parcel service or authority and push you to a fake login page to "fish" for your passwords, card numbers or other personal data. They lean on urgency and a link that looks almost right.
ReadTech-support scams
A fake "Microsoft" or "Apple" warning - by pop-up, call or email - claims your computer is infected and tells you to call a number or grant remote access. The "technician" then installs malware or charges for a fake fix.
ReadAccount-suspension lures
A message warns that your account (bank, email, streaming, parcel) has been locked or shows "unusual activity", and you must verify your identity right now via a link - which leads to a credential-harvesting page.
ReadPrize & lottery bait
You "won" a lottery, gift card or prize you never entered. To claim it you must pay a fee, tax or shipping cost, or hand over personal and banking details. The prize never arrives.
ReadAdvance-fee (419) schemes
A stranger offers you a share of a large sum - an inheritance, unclaimed funds, a business deal - if you first pay a "processing fee" or share bank details. Each fee leads to another; the fortune never exists.
ReadRomance scams
A scammer builds an online relationship over weeks on a dating app or social media, then invents a crisis - a medical bill, a stranded trip, a customs fee - and asks you to send money. They always have a reason never to meet or video-call.
ReadJob offer & money-mule lures
An effortless "work from home" job - mystery shopper, payment processor, package reshipper - that asks you to receive money or parcels and forward them. You become a money mule, laundering criminal funds and risking prosecution.
ReadInvoice fraud & business email compromise
A scammer poses as a supplier, contractor or boss and emails a fake or altered invoice, or a "change of bank details", to redirect a legitimate payment to their account. Common against businesses but also private home buyers and tenants.
ReadRefund & overpayment scams
You are told you are owed a refund (tax, subscription, parcel) and must "confirm" bank details to receive it - or a buyer "accidentally" overpays and asks you to return the difference before their payment bounces.
ReadParcel & delivery-fee scams
A text or email impersonating DHL, DPD, the post office or customs says a parcel is held and a small fee is needed to release or redeliver it. The link harvests card data; the "fee" is tiny to lower your guard.
ReadInvestment & crypto scams
Fake trading platforms, "guaranteed" returns and celebrity-endorsed crypto deals lure you to deposit money. Early "profits" on a fake dashboard tempt you to invest more; when you try to withdraw, fees pile up and the money vanishes. Often seeded via WhatsApp/Telegram groups ("pig butchering").
ReadGrandparent & emergency scams
A caller or texter pretends to be a relative in trouble - "Mum, I lost my phone, this is my new number" or a grandchild who caused an accident - and urgently needs money or bail. They exploit love and panic to bypass your judgement.
ReadSextortion & blackmail emails
A threatening email claims to have hacked your webcam or device and recorded you watching adult content, demanding payment (usually in Bitcoin) or they will send the "video" to your contacts. The claim is almost always a bluff - they have no video. They may quote an old leaked password to scare you.
ReadQuishing (QR-code phishing)
Scammers replace or plant QR codes - on parking meters, letters, emails, restaurant tables - that lead to a fake payment or login page. Because the destination is hidden inside the code, you cannot see where it really goes until it is too late.
ReadFake online shops
A professional-looking web shop offers branded goods at unbeatable prices, but only accepts prepayment by bank transfer. The shop is a copy-paste facade on a freshly registered domain with fake trust seals and a missing or stolen legal notice - after you pay, nothing is shipped and the site disappears.
ReadClassifieds & marketplace scams
On classifieds platforms (Kleinanzeigen, Facebook Marketplace), scammers target both sellers and buyers: a fake "secure payment" link supposedly from the platform harvests your card data, an invented courier or shipping company demands fees, a buyer "overpays" and wants the difference back, or the chat is pulled to WhatsApp where the platform can no longer protect you.
ReadFake police & shock calls
A caller posing as a police officer or prosecutor claims a relative caused a fatal accident and needs "bail", or that a burglary ring is operating in your street and your money is no longer safe at home or in the bank. You are told to hand cash and valuables to a "plain-clothes colleague". The caller ID is often spoofed to show 110 - which the real police never call from, and they never collect money.
ReadSubscription traps
A "free" trial, prize test or streaming sign-up quietly rolls into an expensive subscription: the costs are hidden in fine print, the order button does not say what you are committing to, and suddenly monthly charges appear. In Germany the "button rule" (§ 312j BGB) protects you - an online order only binds you if the button clearly says something like "zahlungspflichtig bestellen" (order with obligation to pay).
ReadPing calls (one-ring scams)
Your phone rings exactly once from an unknown foreign number and the caller hangs up before you can answer. The missed call is the bait: if you call back, you land on an expensive foreign or premium-rate number that keeps you on the line while charges run up. The Bundesnetzagentur regularly blocks the numbers behind these waves and collects reports.
ReadAI voice-cloning scams
Scammers clone the voice of a child, grandchild, partner or boss from a few seconds of audio (social media clips are enough) and call or send voice messages: the "relative" is in an accident, in custody or stranded and needs money transferred right now. The voice sounds real - that is the whole trick. Verify by calling back on the person's known number or using a family code word.
ReadTask & commission-job scams
A message (often via WhatsApp or Telegram) offers easy part-time work: "complete simple tasks" like rating products or clicking app jobs for commission. Small early payouts feel real, then you must deposit your own money to "unlock" higher-paying task sets or to release your balance. The deposits grow and the earnings never come out.
ReadRecovery & refund-recovery scams
After someone has already been scammed, a second scammer contacts them claiming to be a "fund recovery" expert, lawyer or government agent who can get the lost money or crypto back - for an upfront fee, "tax" or "release" payment. Victims of an earlier scam are deliberately targeted a second time.
ReadRental & apartment scams
A flat is listed well below market price with attractive photos (often stolen from a real listing). The "landlord" is conveniently abroad and cannot show it, so you are asked to pay a deposit and first month before viewing, with the keys promised by mail. After payment there is no flat and no landlord.
ReadBank fraud-department impersonation
A caller or text claims to be your bank's fraud department: there is a suspicious transaction and, to "protect" you, you must move your money to a new "safe account" or read out a one-time code or TAN to cancel the payment. The safe account belongs to the scammer, and the code authorises their transfer.
ReadPaid Review Schemes (Gift Card for a 5-Star Review)
A seller, or a middleman acting for several sellers, contacts you after a purchase and offers a refund, a gift card, or a free product in exchange for a glowing five-star review. Sometimes they ask you to buy the item first and promise to pay you back once the review is live. The deal feels like easy money, but it breaks marketplace rules and consumer-protection law, can get your buyer account permanently banned, and often ends with the promised refund never arriving once your honest review has been replaced by a fake one.
ReadBrushing Scam (Parcels You Never Ordered)
Brushing is when a seller sends you cheap goods you never ordered so they can register a sale to your name and address and then post a glowing "verified purchase" review in your name. The package itself is usually harmless and free to keep, but it is a signal that your name and address - and possibly more of your personal data - are circulating where a stranger can use them. The real harm is the fake reviews that mislead other shoppers and the fact that someone has enough of your details to set up the shipment.
ReadCalendar Invite Phishing (Spam Events on Your Calendar)
Scammers send calendar invitations that some apps add to your calendar automatically, even before you open them. The events carry alarming titles and a link - a fake invoice, a security warning, a parcel notice - that leads to a phishing or malware page. Because the entry appears inside a trusted calendar with a notification, it looks like something you agreed to, which is exactly why people tap the link without the usual caution they apply to email.
ReadVehicle Sale Scams (Too-Cheap Cars and Fake Escrow)
In a vehicle-sale scam a car, van, or motorbike is listed well below market price with a plausible story - a soldier deploying overseas, a death in the family, an urgent move. The seller refuses a normal viewing and steers you toward paying through a fake escrow service, a wire transfer, or gift cards, often dressed up as a buyer-protection programme. The car does not exist or is not theirs, and once the money is sent it is gone, along with the seller.
ReadReshipping Job Scam (Becoming an Unwitting Parcel Mule)
A reshipping scam is a fake work-from-home job where you receive packages at your address and forward them on to another address, often abroad, using prepaid labels the "employer" sends you. The goods were bought with stolen cards or stolen accounts, and by relabelling and reshipping them you launder them for the criminals. Wages are usually promised after a 30-day "trial" that conveniently ends before you are paid, leaving you out of pocket and, more seriously, potentially liable for handling stolen property.
ReadPet adoption & puppy scams
A seller advertises a purebred puppy, kitten or other pet far below the usual price, but always finds a reason not to meet in person. After you pay a deposit, new fees appear - a special shipping crate, pet insurance, a travel permit - and the animal never arrives. The photos are often stolen from real breeders or generated by AI.
ReadMLM & pyramid recruitment
A friend or stranger offers a "business opportunity" where you buy a starter kit, sell products and earn most of your money by recruiting other people. The pitch promises freedom and unlimited income, but monthly quotas and the cost of inventory mean the vast majority of participants lose money. When earnings depend mainly on recruiting, it behaves like a pyramid scheme.
ReadGovernment & authority impersonation
A caller, email or text pretends to be the tax office, immigration, police or a utility company and claims you owe money or have broken the law. You are threatened with arrest, heavy fines, deportation or having your power cut off unless you pay immediately, usually by gift card, cryptocurrency or instant transfer. Real authorities do not work this way.
ReadFake charity & disaster appeals
Scammers create fake charities or copy real ones, especially after a disaster, and beg for urgent donations. They push you to give right now through gift cards, cryptocurrency or instant transfer, or through a fake crowdfunding page that funnels money to them instead of victims. The emotional appeal is real; the cause is not.
ReadSocial media account takeover
An attacker hijacks a social media or messaging account, then uses the trust of its contacts to spread further. A common trick is a "friend" asking you to forward a verification code, vote in a contest, or lend money because they are locked out - in reality the code lets the attacker take over your account next. Once they control it, they target your friends.
ReadHelp us train Scampilot
Forward suspicious emails to our training address. Every scam helps us detect fraud better for everyone - anonymous, no account, no personal data stored.
training@in.scampilot.deYou will get a short thank-you - but no individual verdict back.