Protect yourself from phishing and fraud!

Your security and the security of your data is always our top priority! That is why it is important to know that alleged fraudsters with criminal intentions are constantly developing new methods to obtain your personal data and your money.

Currently, an increasing number of so-called phishing e-mails are being sent, allegedly from Foto Erhardt GmbH, asking you to enter personal data or even make payments to unknown accounts!

What is phishing?

Phishing is a cybercriminal method in which fraudsters attempt to obtain personal data such as payment information, passwords or addresses through fake emails, text messages, websites or social media accounts. Some of these phishing messages and accounts can look deceptively real and are therefore not always recognizable as fake at first glance.

Please note: You can only find the well-known Foto Erhardt deals directly in our official store! And our emails always come from addresses with @foto-erhardt.de or @fotogena.de endings.

Received a suspicious message?

Have you received a message (by e-mail, social media or text message) that you are not sure really came from us? These tips will help you to protect yourself against phishing and fraud attempts and to recognize fake messages:

Check the sender!
We only send emails from addresses ending with @foto-erhardt.de or @fotogena.de. In social networks, we communicate exclusively via our official channels on Instagram @fotoerhardt, Facebook /FotoErhardt and YouTube /FotoErhardt1. If you receive emails from other domains ending with .com, .net, .info (or completely different), these are not authentic emails from Foto Erhardt. Do not open any attachments to these e-mails, do not click on any links and do not make any payments to the bank details mentioned in them.
Check the contents!
We publish all promotions on our homepage and our official social media channels. If you receive promotions that you cannot find online - be careful and contact us via the contact form or by email to verify the promotion. In addition, we will never contact you unsolicited and without your express consent or ask you to enter sensitive data such as passwords, bank details or bank account access data outside our store.
Do not reply to suspicious messages!
If you receive a suspicious message, do not reply to it under any circumstances - especially if you are asked to enter sensitive data or make payments. Instead, use our official contact options (e-mail, contact form on the homepage or telephone) to communicate directly with Foto Erhardt employees (and not with third parties).
Do not click on links or open unknown attachments!
If an e-mail seems suspicious to you, please do not click on any links it contains! You should also always be careful with attachments that you do not expect (invoices without a previously placed order, offer PDF without a previous offer request)! Especially if the e-mail does not come from an official @foto-erhardt.de nor @fotogena.de e-mail address.
Do not respond to pressure and threats!
Many scammers deliberately use their messages to arouse fear or insecurity and encourage the recipients of the messages to take rash action. Don't let yourself be put off and contact us directly to follow up and take the wind out of the criminals' sails!

What to do in the event of phishing or fraudulent messages?

Photographers and companies often have publicly visible email addresses on forums, homepages or other platforms that can be collected by bots (so-called web scrapers). If these bots collect your private data, they can contact you and send you phishing/fraudulent emails. If you find such a message in your inbox, you should do the following:

Report the phishing attempt and file a complaint:
Phishing is an attempt to defraud - and therefore a criminal offense that you should definitely report to the police and, if necessary, file a complaint if you have been harmed. The fraudulent message should not be deleted. It will serve as evidence in an emergency. Please also contact Foto Erhardt if the phishing message was allegedly sent in our name so that we can also take action and press charges.
Act quickly and with foresight:
If you have accidentally clicked on a suspicious link, change your login details and check your Foto Erhardt account for suspicious activity - preferably on a different device.
Secure electronic devices:
Good antivirus software is always a good idea. To be better protected against email attachments containing viruses, you should always keep it up to date and scan your computer regularly for Trojans and malware. If you are not sure how this works, contact a computer expert.
Inform us about fraudulent messages:
Of course, we do not receive e-mails from fraudsters acting on our behalf, but you are welcome to send us such e-mails and make sure that it is a legitimate e-mail from our company. If it is not a legitimate e-mail, we will inform you accordingly.
Check whether your e-mail address is available for sale as a data record:
It is also possible that criminals have sold your data and the data records are offered to third parties on the web. To find out, you can enter your email address on the website haveibeenpwned.com and check whether this email has been leaked elsewhere. A German alternative is the tool from the University of Bonn: Leakchecker Uni Bonn, where the result is sent by email.

As a general rule, it is better to be too suspicious than not suspicious enough. If in doubt, please do not hesitate to contact us - we are here for you and are committed to your data protection!