Illegal trade
Hundreds of Germany tickets on his cell phone: 15-year-old planned big business with a lousy scam
The Deutschlandticket has already been subscribed to over 11 million times
© Sebastian Gollnow / Picture Alliance / DPA
He apparently wanted to trade with it: a 15-year-old was caught with hundreds of Germany tickets in Halle. The cards were real – they just didn’t belong to him.
It is a successful model: more than eleven million subscriptions to the standard ticket for local transport have now been taken out. But the number of fraud cases and attempted counterfeiting is increasing. A particularly enterprising young person was caught in Halle. He faces high penalties.
The Brandenburg Federal Police Inspectorate reported this on Wednesday. The 15-year-old was noticed during a card check because he had a Showed a Germany ticket that had been issued in a different name. And it wasn’t the only one: the officers found several hundred tickets on his smartphone. All with different names.
Real tickets with stolen data
The officials’ suspicion was that the teenager wanted to sell the tickets on a large scale. In fact, according to the investigators, these are not fakes: they are real Germany tickets, a spokeswoman for the Federal Police confirmed to “Heise”. The suspect is said to have acquired them using data that he obtained through computer fraud. The investigators do not yet want to explain in detail how exactly he did this.
In order to secure further evidence, the federal police had already searched his parents’ apartment on Wednesday. Data carriers, several cell phones and SIM cards were found. A blank pistol, a one-hand knife and a baton, which are said to belong to the suspect, were also confiscated.
The allegations are serious: the young man is accused of fraud, commercial computer fraud and spying on data. According to current estimates, the damage is said to amount to around 16,000 euros, but this sum is not final, emphasizes the Federal Police.
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Germany ticket: many attempts at fraud
Since autumn, the railway has reported an increasing number of fraud attempts in connection with the standard ticket. Passengers would try to use other people’s cards and would show manipulated cards or copied QR codes during checks. The railway is trying to address the problem with stricter measures, explained a spokesman for the “Tagesschau”.
In fact, a Germany ticket is only valid in conjunction with an identification document. “Our staff is always required to have appropriate photo IDs such as ID cards, passports or driving licenses shown as identification.” In some regions, the number of controls has also been significantly increased.
Anyone who tries to use a fake Germany ticket is committing a much more serious offense than simply fare evading. In addition to driving without a valid card, known as transport fraud, there is also fraud and forgery of documents. Both can be punished with fines and imprisonment.
Sources:Magdeburg Federal Police Inspectorate, Heise, daily News