As of: March 27, 2024, 11:27 a.m
By: Felix Herz
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A criminal gang uses fake travel agency websites to fake holiday bargains.
Hundreds of vacationers fall for the scam.
Nuremberg - A fraudulent group is accused of using fake online travel agencies to scam numerous price-conscious vacationers out of more than 400,000 euros.
A 19-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman are therefore already in custody, as the police announced on Tuesday, March 26th.
Another suspect was released after the hearing before the magistrate.
Two of the accused were arrested at the main train station in Nuremberg, the other at Munich Airport.
200 fraud victims, 420,000 euros in damage – holiday trap on the Internet
So far, the authorities are aware of around 200 suspected fraud victims.
They paid the fraudsters money for vacations that they were never able to take.
Some of those affected only discovered at the airport that they had become victims of a scam, according to the police.
In total, the victims transferred around 420,000 euros to the fraudsters.
Due to the numerous reports in this context, the Fürth criminal police have set up a special working group called “Holidays”.
Two suspects are in custody after scamming holidaymakers out of hundreds of thousands with fake travel offers.
Investigators are looking for other gang members and ways to give the victims their money back.
(Symbolic image) © Zoonar / IMAGO
Investigators report that the gang operated various websites and profiles on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to impersonate real online travel agencies.
Trips were offered under reputable-sounding company names, some of which only cost half the usual cost.
“Professional and serious impression”: Fraudsters deceive vacationers
The companies had few but consistently positive online reviews, which prompted many customers to contact them via email or WhatsApp.
The fraudsters continued to create a “professional and serious impression,” according to the investigators.
With limited-time bargain offers, they put pressure on customers to book quickly.
After the arrests, investigators are now concentrating on finding other gang members and on the possibility of returning at least some of their money to the victims.
It is currently being examined whether so-called asset arrests can be applied for against the trio.
In this case, for example, the suspects' company accounts with possible profits could be frozen.
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Some fraud websites are still online – police warn
Investigators are working “hard” to deactivate the affected websites and social media accounts.
“Some of them are still online, the internet is big,” said a police spokeswoman.
By analyzing the suspected fraudsters' company accounts, investigators want to find out how many other vacationers have already paid deposits for trips they will probably never take.
Those affected should be contacted before transferring the remainder of the offer price.
The police advise you to be careful about holiday bargains that are well below usual prices.
Deposits of more than half of the total price and customer support via email or WhatsApp are also suspicious if the first contact was made via a booking platform.
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The editor Felix Herz wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked.
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