The police warn of online scams when buying wood. In Lower Bavaria, several cases have become known in the past few days in which people have fallen for fake shops where they want to buy firewood or pellets. Fraudsters on the Internet obviously wanted to take advantage of the rising energy prices, the police headquarters in Lower Bavaria announced on Thursday.
A man from Plattling in the Deggendorf district ordered two tons of pellets in mid-August and paid several hundred euros in advance. He got nothing delivered. The same happened to a woman from the Kelheim area who had transferred 800 euros to a French account – but did not receive any wood pellets for it.
At first glance, the fake shops looked professional, the police explained. Even an imprint is often available. However, there are indications that point to fraud: consumers should check whether the prices are realistic at all. A particularly low price should always be viewed critically. It also helps to enter the name of the provider in an Internet search engine – you often see warnings.