Signature of a check.
Drawing.
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Avantis stock Sipa
The gendarmes of Narbonne (Aude) said Thursday that they had dismantled a vast network of organized fraud, after an investigation that lasted five months.
Six people were arrested, notably near Montpellier and Béziers (Hérault).
Four are being prosecuted for sentences of up to 10 years in prison.
The scam involves vehicle purchases on a classifieds site.
The investigators identified 11 victims, for a damage of more than 300,000 euros.
Fake checks
“The perpetrator selects a recent and high-end vehicle for sale on the site, describes the gendarmerie.
He then reproduces the original ad to publish it on the same site.
When a buyer reports and concludes an agreement, he must send an SMS with the image of a cashier's check to the perpetrator, in order to proceed with the sale.
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The suspects are suspected of having then made appointments with the actual sellers of the vehicles, presenting them with cashier's checks, exact reproductions of the photographs sent, as well as false identity documents, and of having left with the vehicles.
"The honest seller realizes the subterfuge while the falsified bank check is rejected", continue the services of the Narbonne gendarmerie.
Miscellaneous
Eure-et-Loir: A driving school issued false traffic codes for 1,000 euros, five people arrested
Miscellaneous
Belgium: A sexagenarian defrauded of more than 10,000 euros via the Facebook Market Place
Languedoc-Roussillon
Car
Internet
Narbonne
Fraud
Montpellier
Beziers
Miscellaneous