BaFin warns fake 'Bafin Bundessonderförderprogramm, Klasse 4a, SEPA-Mietzahlungsverkehr' housing subsidy
BaFin warned on 19 October 2026 that the 'Bafin Bundessonderförderprogramm, Klasse 4a, SEPA-Mietzahlungsverkehr' housing subsidy is fake. Fraudsters use it to collect personal and bank details and sometimes advance payments.
- First reported
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Source: bafin.de · published
What happened
Germany's financial regulator BaFin warned on 19 October 2026 that fraudsters are offering a supposed BaFin subsidy programme for the housing market. BaFin says the 'Bafin Bundessonderförderprogramm, Klasse 4a, SEPA-Mietzahlungsverkehr' is fake. The fraudsters ask consumers for personal data and their bank details, and in some cases for advance payments. BaFin points out that it does not offer any subsidy programmes, financing or grants for the housing market or for rent payments. It asks consumers to refuse such requests and to report them to the police or the public prosecutor's office. BaFin itself is the impersonated authority, not the scammer.
How the scam works
The fraudsters present a supposed federal special subsidy programme run by BaFin for the housing market and rent payments, using official-sounding terms such as a "class 4a" and "SEPA rent payment transactions" to make the offer look like a real government scheme. According to BaFin, they ask the people they contact to hand over personal data and their bank details, and in some cases to pay money in advance.
BaFin says it does not, as a matter of principle, offer its own subsidy programmes, financing or grants for the housing market or for rent payments. BaFin supervises banks, insurers and financial markets; it does not pay out subsidies to tenants or landlords. Any message that offers money from BaFin in exchange for personal data, bank details or an upfront payment is therefore a fraud attempt.
Bank details and personal data handed over in such a scheme can be misused for unauthorised direct debits, identity theft or further, more convincing scams, for example calls from people claiming to be from BaFin, a bank or the police. Advance payments sent to the fraudsters are usually lost.
Source
BaFin, "Betrug: BaFin warnt vor angeblichem Förderprogramm für den Wohnungsmarkt" (19 October 2026).
Red flags
- An offer of a subsidy, grant or financing 'from BaFin'; BaFin doesn't run such programmes.
- Official-sounding programme names with classes or SEPA terms.
- Requests for personal data, IBAN or bank details to 'register' for a subsidy.
- Any demand for an advance payment or fee before money is paid out.
If you were targeted
- 1Refuse the request and don't send personal data, bank details or payments.
- 2If you gave bank details, tell your bank immediately and watch for unauthorised direct debits, which you can usually reverse.
- 3Report the approach to the police or the public prosecutor's office, as BaFin asks.
- 4Check genuine BaFin information only on bafin.de, which you open yourself.
- 5Be wary of follow-up calls from people claiming to be from BaFin, a bank or the police.