Cars bought on Leboncoin with forged cheques

In Toulouse, two men have been indicted following a year-long police investigation. They are suspected of having set up a scam between private individuals, considered simple but highly lucrative. They are alleged to have pocketed the sum of 250,000 euros over two consecutive years. They did this by trafficking in second-hand cars, which they bought with wooden cheques on the Leboncoin classified ads website, before selling them on. A total of 53 victims have been identified throughout France, particularly in the Haute-Garonne region.

A fictitious company set up to scam individuals on Leboncoin

It took a year for investigators from the Toulouse Sûreté Départementale to find the two men, who were arrested in the Tours region. They are suspected of having set up a large-scale used car scam on the Leboncoin classified ads website, and of having conned at least 53 private individuals throughout France. To set up their scam and run their lucrative business, the duo, aged 24 and 33, allegedly first created a fictitious car trading company.

Thanks to this fake company, they were able to canvass private individuals who were putting their cars up for sale on Leboncoin. The duo then opened a bank account (which was never funded), giving them a chequebook with which to make fraudulent payments.

Losses of €644,000 for the 53 victims identified

Unfortunately, the victims in this case discovered too late that the company's account had not been funded and that they had been duped with bad cheques. What's more, the swindlers were quick to resell the cars they had fraudulently bought from the victims at half price, and they demanded payment in cash to avoid being traced.

In all, investigators were able to identify 53 transactions carried out by these fraudsters, representing a loss of around 644,000 euros, for a profit of 250,000 euros. The two individuals, from the semi-sedentary traveller community, are said to have admitted the offences while in police custody and were subsequently charged. As the cars have not been found, investigations are continuing.

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Despite the measures put in place by the Leboncoin advertising site, many crooks manage to slip through the net, demonstrating the insecurity present on these resale platforms between private individuals. So it's important to be vigilant when putting a property up for sale or buying on Leboncoin, because you are never safe from an attempted scam.

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