The LKA Lower Saxony is currently warning of fake invoices for domains, many of which are apparently currently ending up in the mailboxes of potential victims. Recipients should exercise caution. Some identifying features stand out that help to identify the fakes as such.
The fraudulent e-mails, which the LKA Lower Saxony specifically warns about, supposedly come from a company “DDN Hosting”. Open costs for a domain registration for 2023/2024 would have to be settled. the mail is according to the LKA extremely short, impersonal and contains spelling mistakes.
“Dear Mrs / Mr,
Below are the details of the domain registration for 2023 / 2024.
We hope to have informed you sufficiently.
Kind regards,
Karin Mueller
Customer service
DDN hosting
Domain & Web Hosting Services”
Supposed invoice attached
The emails contain a PDF file as an attachment. In principle, the usual security warnings apply to unsolicited file attachments: They could be harmful and should not be opened if, for example, the sender is unknown.
The presentation of the invoice document looks serious at first glance. The recipients should therefore transfer 291.45 euros to a bank account in Estonia (IBAN initial code EE). However, neither the e-mail nor the invoice contain any indication of which domain it could be. The invoice also contains no information about the recipient, it does not name anyone.
The fraudulent PDF invoices look legitimate at first glance.
The LKA Lower Saxony has seen several of these emails. They differ essentially in the date and the specified invoice number.
Recipients should not respond to these bills and under no circumstances should they transfer money to the specified account in Estonia. Anyone who has fallen victim to the scam should immediately contact their own bank and try to stop the transfer – but nowadays that can no longer be possible after minutes, adds the State Criminal Police Office. Those affected should then make a report to their local police station.
In November, the LKA Lower Saxony warned of more sophisticated scams that fraudsters used to make digital copies of bank cards and then use them to pay at the expense of the victims.
(dmk)
