Man reports losing over €17,000 in online car shipping scam

Police issued another warning over a new internet fraud on Wednesday, citing the complaint of a 36-year-old man who was scammed out of over €17,000 by alleged car traders.

The man reported the online scam to Limassol CID on Wednesday, saying he had recently received an e-mail by unknown persons who claimed to be representatives of a company based abroad trading used cars.

In July, the complainant said he placed an order for five cars, amounting close to €35,000 and paid an advance of €17,130 to a bank account in a foreign country, indicated by the suspects.

After the cars he ordered were not transported to Cyprus, the man contacted the company and realised he was deceived, as he found that the vehicles were never loaded for transport to the island.

Citing this new online fraud, police urged the public to be caution when making payments to bank accounts mentioned in any e-mails.

Instead, people were advised to contact the beneficiaries via phone, preferably a number they used for previous communication.

To report anything suspicious, contact police cybercrime unit on 22-808200 or via the online e-crime complaint form at https://cybercrime.police.gov.cy/police/CyberCrime.nsf/subscribe_gr/subscribe_gr?OpenForm.

For more information on the various forms of online fraud, please visit www.cypruspolicenews.com, under “TIPS TO THE PUBLIC/ Internet Fraud” or www.cyberalert.cy.