Leboncoin head gasket scam in France
Organised gang scams have been uncovered in a number of regions, particularly in eastern France and Burgundy Franche-Comté. The individuals, three women and eleven men, went on trial in Mulhouse at the beginning of February, where they were found to have preyed on around a hundred victims, all car dealers. The individuals used the cylinder head gasket scam technique to target private individuals on classified ad sites such as Leboncoin.
Around a hundred victims in eastern France
Fourteen people (eleven men and three women) aged between 23 and 50 and of Romanian origin, appeared in court in Mulhouse at the beginning of February. They are accused of swindling around a hundred victims in an organised gang operation known as the "cylinder head gasket scam".
Between 2016 and the beginning of 2020, a total of 103 victims of the actions of these scammers were recorded. What's more, more than half of these victims have filed civil claims, i.e. they have suffered harm as a result of the offence. The victims of these scams have been identified in a wide area of eastern France, including Alsace, Lorraine, Burgundy Franche-Comté, Rhône-Alpes, Luxembourg and Reims...
Cylinder head gasket scam on Leboncoin
The scammers targeted car sellers on the classified ads website Leboncoin. The scammers would search for cars for sale, often German brands such as BMW, Mercedes or Audi, and then contact the sellers via the Leboncoin messaging system, pretending to be interested in their cars. To set up their cylinder head gasket scam, the fake buyers would arrange to meet the seller in a shopping centre car park, accompanied by at least two other people. Once an initial inspection of the car had been carried out, two or three members of the group would suggest that the seller take a break in a café while they dealt with the paperwork.
So, while the group accompanying the salesman went off for a coffee, an accomplice stayed with the car. The accomplice would then open the bonnet of the vehicle in order to pour oil into the expansion tank, water into the engine block or to disconnect the sensors. This technique enabled the car to break down when the bogus buyers asked to take the vehicle for a test drive. The bogus buyers then took the liberty of asking for a substantial reduction in the price of the used car, which the sellers often agreed to because they felt under "pressure".
To give you just one example, the owner of a BMW 3 series wanted to sell his car for €20,000, but ended up selling it to the buyers for €9,000. The buyers paid in cash, as is always the case with this scam, so as not to be traced. And when a seller refuses to lower the price of his vehicle to the buyers, it always incurs heavy repair costs.
An initial investigation launched in 2017
Although the scammers have been operating since 2016, it was in 2017 that the investigation was opened at the Mulhouse police station following a failed scam. When the seller had gone to a café with the small group following the meeting in the car park, a friend of the seller had remained discreetly on the lookout during this time. He then spotted someone lifting the bonnet of the vehicle and pouring oil into the expansion tank. Connections were then drawn with other similar cases in Alsace. The first wave of arrests finally took place in March 2019.
Secure the purchase or sale of your used vehicle with Obvy
To avoid this type of scam, which is unfortunately common on classified ad sites such as Leboncoin, it is essential to secure your transactions using a secure payment method. Obvy was designed with this in mind: a benchmark payment solution to guarantee 100% security for your transactions between private individuals or with professionals.
With Obvy, you'll get a full refund in the event of an attempted scam, and you'll have all the information you need to take legal action.