Federal Criminal Police Office warns: Order fraud through fake shops for pellets and firewood is noticeably increasing

Energy crisis: Order fraud through fake shops for pellets and firewood is increasing noticeably

The Federal Criminal Police Office is currently recognizing an enormous increase in cases of fraud by fake shops and private providers who, due to current developments in the energy sector, offer biogenic solid fuels such as pellets and firewood. There are also increased incidences of order fraud for photovoltaic systems and emergency power generators.

Order fraud is generally showing a negative trend, and the number of victims in the area of ​​order fraud involving wood and pellets has been increasing for weeks. Between August and September 2022, the number of related advertisements doubled. The damage in the bright field is currently in the five-digit euro range.

Warning > Federal Criminal Police Office: According to current criminal analysis assessments, high and increasing numbers of victims in this fraud segment are to be expected throughout the coming winter.

Action of the perpetrators

As with all similar scams through fake shops - from wood to graphics cards to multifunctional kitchen appliances - the criminals use the reach of classified advertising platforms and social media. Nine out of ten victims currently say they found the fake shop for wood or pellets via a social media platform.

The profiles of fake shops on social media usually redirect to a website where the actual ordering or payment process takes place according to the usual procedures in online retail (shopping cart, etc.). These fake shops offer particularly popular goods at prices that are noticeably lower than the purchase price of the same goods in free trade. The advertised delivery times for pellet or wood orders are also not compatible with real supply chains.

Order fraud involving wood and pellets also occurs outside of such fake shops. For example, individual perpetrators also appear as private sellers on classified advertising platforms and also offer firewood and pellets at prices that are much cheaper than the current market price.

General information about fake shops on the Internet

Online fraud via fake shops is determined by supply and demand, analogous to free and legal trade in goods. The shortage of certain goods in retail inevitably and quickly leads to an accumulation of fake shops in the product segment where this shortage is noticeable. While last year, for example, this affected graphics cards for computers (“chip crisis”), criminals have now specialized in the effects of the energy crisis and are offering corresponding goods. At Christmas there is a noticeable increase in purchases of game consoles, and there are also a number of fake shops when buying precious metals online.

The criminals usually create more or less professionally programmed websites for the fake shops; these pages are advertised via social media on the one hand, but also via search engine advertising on the other.

Warning from the Federal Criminal Police Office

The Federal Criminal Police Office already has dozens of different fake shops for pellets or firewood for 2022. The Federal Criminal Police Office urgently warns against fake shops for wood, pellets or other energy goods in the goods segment. The following tips and options are available for consumers to recognize fake shops as such:

• Be aware that order fraud often occurs with wood and pellets.
• Be aware that there are hundreds of fake shops and fraudulent advertisements in this segment (criminals operate worldwide via the Internet - often foreign websites).
• If you want to order on an unknown site, check the shop in detail: in a search engine, experience values, warnings, etc.
• If an offer is too good to be true, it usually is.
• Check the address of the website (address field) - criminals like to use addresses that are similar to real shops - the pages often look almost identical.
• Be especially careful on social media.
• If unusually high discounts or bonuses (e.g. first-time buyer bonus) are offered when ordering, this is also an indication of a possible fake shop.

outlook

The fraud mode of order fraud, like many other fraud schemes, is on the rise in the context of cybercrime more broadly. Current geopolitical and economic developments such as the energy crisis or inflation are an important factor here. Order fraud with biogenic solid fuels will be based on the pricing policy for these fuels - especially pellets and firewood. According to current criminal analysis assessments, high and increasing numbers of victims in this fraud segment are to be expected throughout the coming winter.

source

Federal Criminal Police Office Austria

Also read: Firewood: Be careful when buying online! The current energy crisis is causing firewood prices to rise. The feared lack of gas means that wood is being hoarded and therefore becoming more scarce. A perfect starting point for criminals: They take advantage of the situation and create fake shops where they offer cheap firewood. ( Continue reading )