Police smash Smishing fraud ring: over 60 civil servants in action!

Police smash Smishing fraud ring: over 60 civil servants in action!

A criminal fraud ring, active in the area of the so -called "smishing", was recently smashed by the Wetterau police. This is a trend in which fraudsters send camouflaged messages via SMS to deceive unsuspecting bank customers. The perpetrators asked their victims to update their bank details via a link provided, which caused many of those affected to fall into the trap. Wetterau.news reports that led to fake websites that looked like the real bank pages.

The mesh led to the victim unknowingly to reveal their personal data and access data, which allowed fraudsters to access their online banking accounts. It was reported that the perpetrators were also actively on the phone with the victims, exposed themselves as the bank employee and explained that there were unauthorized access. To stop debit, they needed the TAN, which was then also passed on to the fraudsters. As a result, they were able to successfully withdraw money and the victims suffered losses in the five to six-digit range.

searches and arrests

On July 15, 2025, the police started a large -scale operation in which over 60 officials were involved in searches in Friedberg, Niddatal and Hanau. A total of ten apartments were searched, with seven people being temporarily arrested there. FFH reported that a 23-year-old from the Wetterau was ceremonized, while the other six arrested inevitably were set up.

In the searches, the investigators found extensive evidence, including narcotics, a whipping ring and a throwing knife. At least 20 fraud acts are assigned to the suspects all over Germany. The warning of the police is not to provide foreigners their own bank account for money transfers, as this could result in considerable legal consequences. In particular, finance agents who handle funds for the fraudsters through their accounts threatens criminal prosecution for money laundering.

alarming fraud statistics

The trend towards digital fraud, especially in online banking, is not new. According to a report by Biocatch, Germany is one of the countries with the highest rates of cybercrime. Biocatch emphasizes that in 2024 Germany recorded the highest losses due to cyber crime with 267 billion euros and is in second place in phishing attacks. In addition, the number of fraud cases with real -time payments in Europe increased by 110 %.