Firewood scams on the rise amidst energy crisis

The police have received over 500 reports from people who were scammed when trying to order firewood online. Criminals are taking advantage of the energy crisis, and people looking for alternatives to heat their homes, the police said to NOS.

“Criminals follow the seasons and respond to current events. In the summer, they try to sell barbecues. Now that the cold days have arrived and energy prices have risen, they are responding to that need,” Gijs van der Linden of the police’s online fraud reporting center said to the broadcaster.

There are already over 60 rogue online shops that claim to sell wood but never deliver it. Some are very easy to recognize, Van der Linden said. “Some sites are horribly poorly translated, listing non-existent woods,” he said. “This kind of language alone should warn consumers to be alert.”

Other fake shops are more subtle. For example, some existing companies do sell real firewood but don’t have a website. Criminals then pose as that company to set up a credible fake store. The police are taking down these stores as they find them.

The police also noticed a general increase in reports about fake online shops. In 2020, they received around 6,400 such reports. Last year, there were over 13,000 reports and 8,300 so far this year. The average damage per victim increased from 150 euros last year to 330 euros in the first half of this year.