Recognizing Fake Letters: Is This Real?
Fraudsters send letters that look like debt collection, a court, or an authority. They rely on time pressure. You can always check real offices yourself, without using the contact details from the letter.
Last reviewed: October 9, 2026
Machine-translated from German using AI. Only the German version is authoritative.
General information, not legal advice. Only the law, official sources and your specific letter are binding.
In short
You can often recognize fake letters by time pressure, threats, unusual payment methods, and missing details. Check the sender yourself: debt collection agencies must be listed in the legal services register (Rechtsdienstleistungsregister), and you find courts and authorities through their official website. Don't pay anything and don't call any number from the letter until you have checked the office this way.
Warning signs
Time pressure, threat of jail, gift cards, foreign account.
Check debt collection
In the legal services register (Rechtsdienstleistungsregister).
Check a court
Look up the phone number yourself.
If in doubt
Don't pay, ask first.
Typical warning signs
- Very short deadlines of a few days and threats of jail, seizure, or Schufa (credit record) entries
- Payment by gift card, cryptocurrency, sending cash, or to an account abroad
- No concrete reason: no contract, no invoice number, no date
- Unknown client or a company you were never a customer of
- QR code or link to a payment page that does not belong to the authority
- Spelling mistakes, wrong court names, or a payment order (Mahnbescheid) sent by email
How to check the sender
- 1Debt collection agency: Search for the name in the legal services register (Rechtsdienstleistungsregister). If it is not listed there, it may not do debt collection.
- 2Court: Look up the court's address and phone number yourself and ask about it using the file number.
- 3Authority: Use the official website of the city or authority, not the details in the letter.
- 4Broadcasting fee (Rundfunkbeitrag): Compare the contribution number and account with the details on rundfunkbeitrag.de.
- 5Supposed client: Ask the company directly whether there is an open claim.
Have you already paid?
- 1Call your bank immediately and try to get the payment back.
- 2Report it to the police, also possible online.
- 3Keep the letter, envelope, and receipts.
- 4Inform the consumer advice center (Verbraucherzentrale), it warns about known scams.
Frequently asked questions
Can a debt collection agency threaten seizure?
It may point to possible consequences, but it cannot seize anything itself. Only the bailiff (Gerichtsvollzieher) or the enforcement court may seize, and only with a court order (Titel).
I don't know the company. Should I reply?
Don't reply using the contact details in the letter. First check the register and ask the supposed client. If the claim is real but wrong, dispute it in writing.
Is a letter without a signature fake?
Not necessarily. Many real notices are produced by machine and carry no signature. Look at the other warning signs.
Official resources
Got a letter like this in front of you?
Not sure whether a letter is real? Upload it to bliqq. bliqq explains what it says and points out suspicious parts. You always check whether it is genuine yourself with the official office.
Let bliqq explain your letterSources
Read on
Understanding Official Mail
How to figure out what an official letter is about, whether you need to respond, and where to find deadlines or official contact information.
Understanding a Notice (Bescheid)
What a notice (Bescheid) is, how to recognize one, how it is structured, and why the notice of legal remedies (Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung) at the end matters so much.
General information, not legal advice. Only the law, official sources and your specific letter are binding.