Warnings Mount Over ‘End-Digit’ Phone Scam in Germany

Overview

• Fraudsters use automated systems to alter the last digit of caller IDs, bypassing blocks and hitting the same targets repeatedly at all hours.
• Clever Dialer highlights a surge in suspected scam calls this year, describing the tactic as persistent and designed to extract personal and financial data.
• Impersonation schemes feature callers posing as consumer-protection groups, debt collectors, or energy providers who request meter readings or even photos to appear legitimate.
• Several frequently used fixed-line numbers have been published by monitoring services, with many tied to Hamburg and Düsseldorf as well as individual lines in other cities.
• Experts urge people to refuse sharing sensitive information by phone, block and report suspicious numbers, use anti-spam tools, and be alert to AI-cloned voices and pressure tactics that have even targeted children.