The chaos at many airports is causing vacationers to rethink and get back on the road. But in the past, when people traveled by car, sticking vignettes on the windshield was one of the first holiday activities.

This is over in many countries. Today this can easily be done digitally. Cybercriminals see their opportunity here to lure travelers into a trap with fake websites. A current example shows how crooks are misusing French environmental stickers for their own purposes.

Whether Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Austria or Hungary: with the digital vignettes, vacation trips have become much easier. The license plate is registered and there is no need to stick it on the windshield. This simplification has brought fraudsters and rip-offs onto the scene.

When buying online, you should therefore carefully check where the vignette is purchased. Current cases report shops that sell license plate registration as a service in addition to the vignette.

The dangerous thing is that these shops are not illegal and appear high in search engine results. But fake websites can also sometimes be created very easily, as the example of the environmental sticker in France shows.

Another danger: fake websites

In France, drivers in certain regions require a special environmental sticker (Crit'Air). This sticker is available on an official website, and when searching on the Internet, various other sites also appear that also offer this sticker.

Faking a website is not difficult. There are several reports of fraud, particularly with regard to the French environmental sticker. Especially if the website is only written in the local language, foreign holidaymakers find it difficult to check whether it is authentic.

Avoid a rude awakening

Travelers should therefore purchase a vignette or sticker themselves from the official authorities. This ensures that there will be no rude awakenings after the trip. If a digital vignette is not registered correctly, there is a risk that there will be a subsequent and significantly higher payment request after using the motorways. Caution is particularly advised in shady shops where drivers may not receive a purchase receipt at all. This does not ensure that the seller has processed the payment and ordered a vignette.

Tips from ESET security experts

  • Purchase only from official shops: When purchasing, make sure that it is from the website of the respective motorway operator. Therefore, the website should be checked very carefully before ordering. One indicator is the price, because it is required by law and therefore does not allow for any deviations. If in doubt, vignettes can also be purchased from traffic clubs, for example.
  • Pay attention to the imprint and contact details: If there is no imprint at all, you should avoid purchasing in the shop. If no tax number is provided, caution is also advised.
  • Check reviews: Before purchasing, users should research the provider very carefully on the Internet. Are there perhaps even reports from other buyers?
  • Receipt is mandatory: Proof of purchase of the digital vignette must be issued by the seller. This is the only way the buyer can prove that he has purchased a vignette. If no receipt has been issued, the seller should be contacted immediately.

The current article is available on WeliveSecurity: https://www.welivesecurity.com/deutsch/2022/08/02/vorsicht-vor-falschen-umweltplaketten-und-mautvignetten/

Also read: Be careful when buying vignettes


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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 )