German police scam email: fake summons

Reported as phishing

This email was reported as phishing in November 2026. It claims to come from: German police. It was aimed at Germany, Austria, Switzerland and written in German.

This email was reported as phishing. It uses the German police name and look, but it did not come from German police. If you have an account, German police is not asking you to act through this email.

This email is written in German and looks like a police summons, a "Vorladung". It is only one short line: it tells you to answer the summons within 72 hours, then ends with a polite sign-off and the name of a real-sounding official. There is no case number, no office address and no official domain. It is aimed at people in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and its only goal is to make you reply.

A message about the police scares people, and fear makes them answer before they think. The best tell is the channel: police do not send summons by unsolicited email. If you reply, the next step is usually a demand for money. A real summons names a case number and an office you can check.

• Aimed at: Germany, Austria, Switzerland
• Month reported: November 2026
• Email language: German

What the email looks like

Re-typed from the original with personal details removed. This is not the original email. This was a button in the original email. Here it is only a picture of the text and does nothing.

Subject line

• Achtung:

Red flags

• Police do not send summons by unsolicited email
• Short, vague text with a 72-hour deadline
• Signed with the name of a real-sounding official to scare you
• No case number, no office address, no official domain
• Wants you to reply - the next step is usually a demand for money

What to do

1. Do not reply to the email, and do not click any link or button in it.
2. Do not open attachments. Never type a password, card number or code on a page you reached from this email.
3. If you are unsure, contact the real authority yourself, using contact details you find on your own, not the ones in the email.
4. Police do not send summons with payment or download links by email. If you are worried, call your local police station on a number you look up yourself.
5. Mark the email as phishing or spam in your mail app, then delete it.
6. If you already replied and shared details or paid, contact your bank and your local police. If you entered a password, change it and turn on two-step sign-in.

How to report it

In your mail app, use "Report phishing" or "Report junk" so the app learns to block similar emails. You can also forward the email to the real company's abuse or security team, using an address from its official website. If you lost money, report it to your bank and to your local police.

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These emails did not come from the companies or services they name. Brand names belong to their owners and are shown only to help you recognise the scam.