No matter how much digitalization simplifies our modern lives, there will always be someone who messes with it. All online fraud scams have increased significantly in recent years due to the numerous mobile applications. Interestingly, these sometimes include German shipping companies whose website content is copied and reused - often on a server on the other side of the world.
The bad thing about it: Unless you are pointed out to the fake website by chance, you as the injured party usually hardly notice anything about such fakes. In general, you don't have the time to regularly search the entire Internet. So you have to trust that you will get a tip - perhaps it will come from a customer with whom you work regularly. Or the consumer advice center receives a tip and gets in touch with you.
What are the scammers up to?
The goal is actually always the same: make money with shady business. However, exactly how online criminals do this varies. Even on relevant portals where consumers can post sales advertisements, strange business proposals occasionally arrive in their inboxes. The advertised car or kitchen should be picked up and the provider should only pay the transport costs incurred. The contracted shipping company (of course always a fake in this case) would then pick up the goods. If the consumer pays and thus falls for the fraudsters, he will of course see nothing of his money. But the other way around, when buying goods, exactly such “crooked deals” can come about. The Welt editorial team has already written a very interesting article about this, which primarily deals with fraud when buying used cars on the Internet.
Fake websites of non-existent shipping companies
So it can affect not only online portals, but also logistics. Fraudsters use fake websites to try to create a reputable image of a transport service provider - what could be easier than using pictures and names of real shipping companies. The OCS forwarding company has also been hit once and was abused for this scam. With hypocritical value propositions such as escrow services, specialization in car and motorcycle transport, and online shipment tracking (Track & Trace), they assure visitors of supposed security and seriousness. Even though this procedure requires a high degree of criminal energy, the follow-up is extremely complicated and lengthy. In general, you should always listen to your gut feeling: If offers seem dubious to you, it is better to exercise caution. No reputable provider would expect you to transfer transport costs in advance to a shipping company based in a non-European country. No matter how well a website has been recreated.
In the case of the OCS forwarding company, the fraudsters' actions were quite bold: they mainly stole pictures of our employees in order to create a serious impression on the website. Dennis Braun and Sergej Lehrke became Ramino Wobeser and Benjamin Lühring on the fake shipping company's website. Only through a “backward search” of images on Google could the illegally obtained copies be identified and the OCS team be made aware of them.
German consumer protection helps with criminal charges
As a rule, the only option left for an injured party is to go to the police. Nowadays, a criminal complaint can also be filed online. The police in most German federal states provide a so-called online guard so that a complaint can be quickly filed against internet fraudsters. The responsible consumer advice centers are always willing to listen to those injured, even if the chances of success are unfortunately not very high. You could contact the providers and try to have the site blocked or deleted - but it is very unlikely that such requests will be answered at all. You can also find out more about the topic on the consumer advice center website
If it hits you: stay calm.
If you ever come into contact with your data being stolen, you need to act carefully. Contact consumer protection and file a complaint if you feel good about it. Prosecution is usually difficult because often neither the costs nor the effort involved are disproportionate. If you receive a tip, just be open to the matter and inform your customers openly about your observations. It was also very important to us to inform you that shipping companies can be affected by such measures. But don't worry, we are the original.
