Donauwörth police flag surge in online fraud and fake‑shop scams

Police in the Donauwörth area of Germany reported a series of online fraud cases involving phishing, fake‑shop vignettes and credit‑card misuse. Victims included a woman who was tricked into revealing personal data and a TAN for a PayPal payment, a driver who attempted to buy an Austrian vignette on a counterfeit website, and several individuals affected by unauthorized cash withdrawals and fraudulent online transactions. The attacks employed high‑professional methods such as forged payment pages and cloned payment cards. Authorities warned the public to avoid entering TAN numbers or passwords on external links, to monitor account activity, and to block cards immediately via the 116 116 hotline.

The police emphasized that these scams can result in losses ranging from a few dozen euros to several thousand euros and urged victims to report incidents promptly.