Comedian and actor Bastian Pastewka found himself rattled by what he called the “dumbest phishing email ever”. In an interview with the “Neuen Osnabrücker Zeitung” he explained that the mail claimed to be from his bank and insisted on accessing his account details. “I was concerned about my account, so I immediately called my bank to block my PIN numbers” he said. “They wanted to talk me into some obscure financial deal”.
Pastewka pointed the spoof email at the customer‑service rep. The woman pursed her lips in a rueful tone and asked, “Mr Pastewka, did you fall for a phishing mail?” with a hint of disbelief: “Goodness, we had assumed you were smarter”. She re‑checked the email, saying, “It looks pretty real”. “No, it isn’t” she replied, and sent him a genuine message from the bank. “No difference” she added, amused.
The comedian also admits to running into internet pitfalls while Googling himself. “If you type my name into Google, you might see a result like ‘Bastian Pastewka‑Stroke.’ That used to appear at the very top, even with a hyphen. When you click on it you learn that I’ve never had a stroke. That always put me at ease. You shouldn’t be checking your health status on Google”.
When asked about the frequent Google query asking whether he and presenter Anke Engelke had ever been a couple, Pastewka laughed. “After our series “Perfekt verpasst” you might think that. But we were never together”. He added that although he was a fan of the ZDF holiday program as a child, he never “fancied” the host Anke Engelke. “I was into Puschel, the squirrel” he confessed. “But not into Anke, who introduced the show”.