Fraudsters attack Lüneburg: high-quality cars stolen through counterfeits!

Fraudsters attack Lüneburg: high-quality cars stolen through counterfeits!

In Lüneburg, two men were convicted by the regional court of fraud - the sentences range from two years and eight months to three years and ten months. The men obviously meant well when they sneaked into various car dealerships in Lower Saxony and Hamburg. They deceived the sellers with fake ID documents and manipulated pay slips in order to get seven high-quality vehicles with a total value of around 280,000 euros. They were only marginally interested in the so-called “payment in installments” – no payments were made and instead the cars were resold on the Internet. The two fraudsters were finally tracked down by a police officer who arranged a fictitious purchase and was thus able to convict the men, as NDR reports.

But that's just the tip of the fraud iceberg. The background is a professional gang that has already struck several times in northern Germany. One of the convicts, Saso B., managed to identify himself with a fake Danish passport at the Bleckede residents' registration office last year. He only spoke broken German, but the employees accepted the ID card without question. His scam? No matter your age, no matter where you come from, as long as the documents are correct. Together with Nenad R., who appeared under a false name and with a Dutch passport, the group of Serbian and Slovenian fraudsters mobilized and ordered new cars in various cities, such as [Landeszeitung](https://www.landeszeitung.de/lokales/lueneburg-lk/lueneburg/amt-akceptiert-gefaelschte-paesse-auto Schieberbande-hat-leichtes-spiel-JLUCGBBQKRA3BA7RNV2OFZLO4E.html) reported.

A complex network

These fraudsters have developed a certain skill: one takes care of the forged documents, another coordinates the actions, and the others check whether their schemes have been accepted by the authorities. They were not only limited to Lüneburg, but were also active in other cities such as Friesoyte, Hamburg, Bremen and Uelzen. Demand for new cars was high, and some car dealerships released the cars before financing was agreed. A seller had a VW Touareg driven even though Volkswagen Bank had not yet given its approval - which ultimately led to the police being alerted.

The fraudsters' gang banter shows how diverse and professional fraud schemes have become in Germany. According to the BKA, over 743,472 cases of fraud were registered in 2024. The number of unreported cases is probably much higher, as only around 20% of all fraud crimes are reported. But the police are reacting and relying on increased international cooperation and preventive measures.

A look into the future

The background to the scams is shocking: investigators counted over 500,000 cases from abroad last year, with a certain focus on call center fraud, where perpetrators pose as relatives or government employees and thus abuse the victims' trust. With such a wide range of possibilities, fraud remains a key crime phenomenon and it is clear that both the authorities and car dealerships are required to curb such schemes and protect potential buyers from our eyes.

After the last negotiations, the next court dates for Saso B. and Nenad R. have already been set, while the investigations against other gang members are in full swing. Time will tell whether the attacker or the injured party will triumph in the end.