A new fraud is being deployed on a large scale in the north of France. More precisely in Béthune and Lens, where several individuals have filed a complaint following a ghost garage scam. A look back at a scam that is claiming more and more victims.
How does it work?
France Info returned to the case of Matthieu Leriquier, a motorist who goes to a garage to collect a car he has just purchased. There, he finds the door closed. He will never be able to get his hands on this utility vehicle.
Quoted by our colleagues in the public service, the latter expressed his surprise: “It was a garage that was wide open with lots of vehicles. I see he sells quite a few vehicles and I thought it could be a good deal. So, we made the first payment of 10% and then we did the rest”.
Unfortunately, he is far from being the only individual to have been fooled. Numerous testimonials published online attest to this. Several consumers have paid the price of these malicious actors who sell cars in good condition at unbeatable prices. Once they have hooked their target, the criminals ask them for an initial deposit and disappear into the wild without a trace.
An open investigation
We can imagine the distress of these consumers who have sometimes obtained bank loans to carry out these operations and find themselves with nothing. If this deception works to its fullest, it is mainly because the customers have already come into contact with the crook in person and, in this context, the garage is open and everything appears to be in order. Quoted by TF1David Dhote, criminal lawyer at the Lille bar, underlines:
We hope that there will be prosecutions and identification of the perpetrators, since we have several companies that have been created. We also hope that people will be solvent. But we still need to be able to compensate the victims for the damage.
In just one garage in Noyelles-sous-Lens, no less than 25 victims have been recorded. For its part, the Béthune public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation for fraud and abuse of weakness. Faced with danger, it is therefore appropriate to exercise great vigilance. Be especially wary of offers that are too tempting, as this is often a means used by scammers to push you into making mistakes.
