A woman from Rheine orders a pair of shoes via a sales platform and pays for them: The shoes never arrive. A man from Mettingen buys a bicycle trailer via another online platform and pays the bill in advance using a payment service: the trailer is never delivered. Another man from Lotte buys a box system online: Here too, the goods are never delivered.

Fraudsters could be behind this

The district police authority regularly receives reports of goods fraud on the internet. The processes are often the same. The victims pay in advance and then do not receive the goods. Time and again - as in the cases mentioned above - the "friends and family" option is selected for the online payment service PayPal, for example, because no additional fees are incurred. The problem is that there is no buyer protection with this option. The chances of a refund are therefore extremely low. This is because there may be fraudsters behind the trade who simply retain the money.

Choosing a payment option for goods and services

The police therefore strongly advise against paying for online purchases via "family and friends". If you do not know the seller personally, you should always choose the "goods and services" option. And if the latter option is not offered at all, it is best to refrain from making a purchase.