Address book fraud and company entry fraud

If you receive an email from a company called “Weko Media LLC” or “Digi Medien GmbH”, you should ignore it. Because the alleged company entry that it is about and that you are supposed to confirm contains hidden costs. Experts speak of address book fraud.

A particularly perfidious form of address book fraud is currently circulating in Germany, which originally comes from the USA. Many companies receive emails asking them to confirm a company entry in the form of a pre-filled business directory form.

At first it gives the impression that this is free. But there are hidden costs lurking in the small print. The German Protection Association against Economic Crime is therefore currently warning against emails about company entries – especially from the company Weko Media LLC.

Weko Media is not reputable: fraud via company entry

We also received an email from Weko Media LLC, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but it immediately made us suspicious. It says:

Attached we will send you the registration application as a PDF file for inclusion in the 2024/2025 business directory. Please check the information contained therein for accuracy. If you agree, send the signed application back to us either in response to this email or by fax to the number provided in the application.

The pre-filled form in the appendix has the innocuous heading “Company entry North Rhine-Westphalia”. However, there are also emails circulating with company entries in other German federal states. The emails all suggest that confirming or correcting address details is mandatory.

Cost trap in the small print

However, after signing, a contract with Weko Media is concluded. According to the German Protection Association against Economic Crime, those affected will then receive an invoice from KVG Kreditoren Verwaltungs-Gesellschaft AG. The payment should be made to a bank account in Switzerland.

The amount listed in the invoice amounts to a total of 1,860 euros with a contract term of two years – i.e. 930 euros per year. The protection association advises those affected to dispute the contract if they signed due to deception.

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