A method for verifying and/or preprocessing data packets received by a receiving device in a vehicle during wireless vehicle-to-environment communication includes: determining, in the receiving device, relevance of the received data packets; prioritizing, and verification and/or preprocessing according to their relevance, the data packets for the determination of the relevance depending on the distance between a transmitting device and the receiving device; and checking the signature of the transmitting device of the data packets and/or preprocessing the data packets in an order predefined by the prioritizing. The determination of the relevance also depends on the type of data packet and/or the type or position of the transmitting device, taking into account the position of the transmitting device based on another safety-relevant object.