An irresistible offer
Imagine scrolling through your Facebook feed and coming across an incredible offer: a beautiful RV, fully equipped and ready for adventure. And the best part? It's completely free! The couple offering it are supposedly moving abroad and want to make someone happy and no, this time it is not a fake competition for a motorhome, as has been reported so often.
Appearances are deceiving
But don't be fooled! Such posts have been appearing increasingly in various Facebook groups for months and have captivated many users. But the truth is, these offers are nothing more than an unscrupulous scam operating under the guise of generosity.
How does the scam work?
The fraudsters rely on the principle of classified ad fraud. The posts look professional, have similar text, and even feature different RVs. But if you look closer, there are warning signs: The providers' Facebook profiles are recently created, have no friends or other activity, and comments are disabled on the posts.
The status post as wording:
My husband and I would like to give away our motorhome to a family in need who can take good care of it in return. We left Europe for personal reasons and would like to give the motorhome away as we will no longer need it. As we often say: giving without return is a blessing. Please contact me by email if you are interested in this vehicle: (email address)
Anyone who responds to the email address provided in the post not only risks being bombarded with spam messages. It is also very likely that the scammers will try to ask for advance payment for transportation or something similar.
How can you protect yourself?
There are several ways to protect yourself from this type of fraud. Report suspicious posts and profiles on Facebook and other platforms directly on the page. If you have already suffered financial loss, you should also file a police report.
The Federal Criminal Police Office is also currently warning about this scam!
Fraud in the vehicle market: caution is advised!
The summer months are here and many people are planning to travel by car or RV. Especially at this time, tempting offers for vehicles appear on online sales platforms and social media channels. However, the Federal Criminal Police Office warns of a new scam and urgently advises increased vigilance.
Tempting “bargains” with high risk
The scam consists of offering supposed “bargains” that are significantly below market value. After the purchase, the new owners then discover that the vehicles were stolen or embezzled in other countries . The perpetrators often explain the large price differences with small, self-made scratches or damage to the paintwork.
Security first: tips for preventing fraud
To protect yourself from such fraud, the Federal Criminal Police Office makes a number of recommendations:
- Be wary of offers that are significantly below market value. It's rare to see someone sell a high-quality vehicle at a bargain price for no apparent reason.
- Avoid large cash transactions on the street. Instead, you should process large sum transactions better and more securely via bank accounts, which allow the purchase price to be recalled in the event of discrepancies.
- Be careful when disclosing personal information. Online accounts offer sellers a high degree of anonymity. To protect your identity, do not share copies or images of your ID card.
- Insist on complete documentation and accessories. When purchasing motorhomes and cars, you should insist on the immediate handover of the two working original keys, the service booklet and the CoC papers. Do not accept the offer of “forwarding”.
- Be alert to sudden changes. Be suspicious if the delivery location changes shortly before the purchase. Scammers often make up maudlin stories of illness or family emergencies to manipulate you.
- Don't hesitate to contact the police. If you have any suspicions, you should go to the police before buying and describe the situation.
With these tips, you should be well-equipped to protect yourself from fraud when buying a vehicle. And always remember: if an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Source: Federal Criminal Police Office
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )