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Horrifying fraud: 20-year-old back in court in Osnabrück!
On December 4, 2025, an appeal process begins in Osnabrück against a 20-year-old for money laundering in WhatsApp fraud.
Horrifying fraud: 20-year-old back in court in Osnabrück!
On December 4, 2025, an eagerly awaited appeal process will begin at the Osnabrück regional court against a 20-year-old who is said to have worked as a money messenger for fraudsters. This young woman is accused of being involved in a WhatsApp scam that hit numerous parents in the region in 2023. In these schemes, the fraudsters posed as the children of these parents and asked to transfer money, which was then transferred to various accounts, reports NDR.
The allegations are serious. The defendant is said to have either withdrawn the transferred money herself or received individual amounts directly in cash from the affected parents. In June 2025, the Osnabrück district court sentenced the young woman to repay around 3,500 euros. The public prosecutor, on the other hand, considers this verdict to be too lenient, which is now leading to a reassessment in the appeal process.
The danger of WhatsApp scams
The case is not an isolated one. More and more people are becoming victims of fraudsters via platforms like WhatsApp. Just recently reported ZDF that users are added to dubious groups without warning. These group members often seem clueless, but are often fake accounts. Fraudsters profit from gullible users who are captivated with promises of high profit opportunities.
The range of scams is enormous: from alleged job offers that do not exist to supposed insider tips for investing in penny stocks that ultimately only benefit the fraudsters. The damage is now at levels that cloud the eye - 170,000 euros in current cases is not uncommon.
Online fraud and its social impact
A recent study by PwC shows alarming figures on online fraud. According to the survey, phishing is the most common form of fraud at 75%, followed by identity theft (74%) and credit card fraud (73%). Only 51% of respondents feel well informed about the risks of online fraud. Older people aged 50 and over in particular express skepticism about their level of knowledge, while young adults aged between 18 and 29 are often careless with their passwords and rarely make changes.
Jan P. Otto from PwC emphasizes the urgency of developing specific information campaigns to enable the older generation in particular to find their way better in the digital space. The hope remains that through better education and preventative measures, cases similar to that of the 20-year-old in Osnabrück will soon be a thing of the past.