Fraudsters order expensive goods online
The willingness to accept parcel deliveries for neighbors can be exploited by fraudsters: They order goods for several thousand euros on account under someone else's name, for example expensive branded items, and use an address where they are not registered as the delivery address. Sometimes they take advantage of the actual residents' vacation-related absence, or they put someone else's name on an empty mailbox.
Parcel deliverers leave goods with neighbors
Since there is no one at the receiving address, the deliverers usually hand the packages over to a replacement recipient. As a rule, these are the people who live in the surrounding area, the neighbors.
Fraudsters collect goods from helpful neighbors
The fraudsters then ring the doorbells of the replacement recipients and ask them to hand over the packages using imaginative pretexts. For example, you claim to have recently moved in or to collect the mail for a relative or for the customer who is supposedly on vacation.
If the invoice is not paid because the order was placed under the wrong name, the replacement recipient must pay for the goods in case of doubt because he is the last known recipient of the package.
Our tips for accepting parcels
- Pay attention to any anomalies, especially on house mailboxes (additional mailboxes, frequently changing or additional names, etc.).
- Only accept packages for people you know.
If you have received a package for a stranger and an unknown person rings your doorbell to pick it up, then:
- Have your ID card shown and write down the details.
- Also remember and write down the appearance of the person collecting the item (age, height, clothing, conspicuous features) as well as the date and time of collection.
- Keep the pickup notice from the actual recipient to prove you passed on the package.
- If you suspect fraud, please refuse to hand it over and contact the nearest police station or call the police on the relevant emergency number.
Source:
Police advice
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