Warning about 10 phone numbers: Avoid answering or returning the call
The situation is becoming more difficult for German families due to phone scammers, as August saw an increase in fraudulent calls. Many of these nuisance numbers came from Hamburg and Düsseldorf, where callers cleverly change the last digits of their phones to avoid being blocked. As soon as one number is blocked, a similar number starts ringing.
According to the monthly spam call report from Clever Dialer, the number 040855997158 from Hamburg topped the list with over 1,200 blocks. Several other numbers from the same system followed, differing only in their last digits. This indicates that the calls are not random, but part of an organized fraud network.
Düsseldorf numbers have prominently appeared, as scammers often used them to pretend to be lottery operators or to offer large prizes. In some cases, callers falsely claimed to represent consumer protection agencies, making them seem more credible. Alarmingly, many of these scammers already had the victims' banking data, making the situation more dangerous.
One of the most prominent scams came from the number 028227849876 from Imrich, which is associated with what is called "ping calls". The phone rings briefly in the hope that the victim will call back. However, calling back leads to hefty charges, creating an expensive trap for the unwary.
Here are the ten most dangerous numbers in August: 040855997158 (Hamburg, 1,295 bans) – Fake contests 021195586801 (Düsseldorf, 948 bans) – Fake contests 040855997159 (Hamburg, 596 bans) – Fake contests 040855997157 (Hamburg, 1,059 bans) – Fake contests 040855997152 (Hamburg, 786 bans) – Fake contests 021195586813 (Düsseldorf, 855 bans) – Fake contests 021195586816 (Düsseldorf, 774 bans) – Fake consumer protection 028227849876 (Emmerich, 967 bans) – Ongoing ping calls 015510800215 (Mobile number, 777 bans) – Fake contests 030330750298 (Berlin, 432 bans) – Fake contests
The increasing number of blocked calls proves the extent of this problem. Authorities and consumer protection experts continue to warn citizens of the need to be cautious, not to interact with unknown numbers, and not to share any personal or banking information over the phone.