Sparkasse Flags Fake Accounts as Barclays and Postbank Customers Face New Phishing Wave

Overview

• Sparkasse warns that spoofed profiles on Instagram and Facebook are inviting users into large WhatsApp trader groups that later steer them to fraudulent trading sites with no withdrawals.
• The scam cultivates trust over weeks by sharing supposed market analyses and investment tips before pressuring payments, according to the Sparkassen Computer-Notfallteam.
• Consumer watchdogs report a Barclays-themed email titled “Wichtige Mitteilung: Neues Dokument in Ihrem Online‑Postfach” that urges a click on “Dokument anzeigen” and leads to a fake page.
• Postbank customers are being hit with convincing emails that threaten account blocks within 24 hours to coerce data entry, with the BSI warning that submitted credentials cannot be retrieved.
• Authorities advise ignoring unsolicited prompts, checking alerts only via official banking apps or websites, sending phishing to spam, reporting suspicious profiles and messages to platforms and banks, and contacting the bank immediately if data was shared.