The dream of a new car at a bargain price can quickly turn into a real financial hell, warn the cyber police from GDBOP. In recent weeks, the domestic "Cybercrime" directorate has been literally flooded with complaints from stung Bulgarians who have fallen into the trap of an international criminal network. The scheme is so sophisticated that even experienced users are easily lured by attractive offers that seem "too good to be true".
It all starts on the large and legitimate European car sales platforms. There, "sellers" publish ads with perfectly selected photos and detailed descriptions of cars, the prices of which are far below market prices. To lull the victims' vigilance, the fraudsters even send copies of ID cards (stolen or fake, of course). The head of the sector for combating financial fraud on the Internet, Asen Kunchev, reveals that the main goal of the bandits is to take the dialogue outside the protected environment of the platform and transfer it to chat applications such as WhatsApp or Viber.
Once the communication becomes direct, the psychological attack begins. The victim is convinced that the interest in the car is huge and that a deposit or advance must be transferred quickly so as not to "miss out" on the deal. However, the money does not go to a real dealer, but to the accounts of the so-called "financial mules", controlled by organized groups operating mainly from North Africa and Eastern Europe. At the moment, there is no evidence of Bulgarian participation in the organization itself of the fraud – it is a large-scale international “business“.
The blows are painful – the amounts that Bulgarians have lost range from a modest 1,000 to a record 100,000 euros, with the latest case related to the purchase of agricultural machinery
Similar signals are pouring in not only at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but also at the Bulgarian embassy in Berlin, as well as at a number of European services. It turns out that the “virus” of this fraud does not choose nationality, but Bulgarian consumers have become a particularly vulnerable target in the last month.
Experts advise: be extremely suspicious when someone presses you for time and demands payment before you have seen the vehicle in person. In the world of cars, there are no free lunches, and a low price is often just a wrapper on an empty box. View ads in Bulgarian sites, then go to the location to see the car. If you have any doubts about an ad, it is better to cancel in time, rather than finance the international criminal contingent.