Warning: You should never send these images via WhatsApp

If you use WhatsApp on a regular basis, listen up.

In Germany, the Brandenburg Consumer Advice Centre is currently warning that fraudsters are trying to obtain photos of ID cards via WhatsApp. To do this, the cyber crooks use fake letters from lawyers, crypto platforms or hiring companies, making the process look legitimate. And there’s no reason why this won’t be replicated around the world.

The consumer protection organisations describe the fraudsters’ approach as follows. The criminals pretend to be employees of banks, law firms or platforms for cryptocurrencies, and contact can be made via traditional letter post. In the letter, they state an urgent request for which the person contacted must identify themselves online. To do this, they use the names of well-known service providers or fake official letters to gain the trust of potential victims.

In one such current scam, the fraudsters pretend to be employees of a Swiss law firm. The consumer protection organisation has published a letter that the gangsters send to their victims. In it, the criminals claim “that the recipients are victims of a scam in connection with competitions or cryptocurrencies. They are allegedly entitled to compensation of several thousand euros, as confirmed by the courts. To receive the payout, they would only have to identify themselves via WhatsApp, telephone or email”.

However, if the people contacted do this and send copies/scans of their ID card or hold it up to the camera via video chat, the sensitive information on the ID document falls into the hands of the criminals. This scam is not new, but we haven’t seen the disguise as a Swiss law firm before. The fraudsters are constantly coming up with new disguises to trick their victims.

For example, bank accounts can be opened, online purchases made, or other transactions carried out using data from ID cards or other identification and verification documents. All in someone else’s name.

If you’re ever asked to send ID documents, on WhatsApp or any other digital platform, take a moment to double-check that it’s a legitimate request. If you’re in any doubt, don’t do it.