A fraudster has been foiled in his attempt to obtain expensive cars from dealerships in Bolton and Manchester. Between 8 January 2015 and 16 January 2015 a person purporting to be the managing director of a legitimate business contacted an Audi dealership in Bolton and ordered seven cars. All relevant paperwork was signed and it wasn’t until the day of the delivery that it was established a driving licence used was fake. No cars were taken but the dealership suffered a financial loss due to the depreciation in value of the cars that were ordered. Between 16 and 20 January 2015, a man using the same details requested seven BMWs from a dealership in Manchester. The order was placed but concerns were raised from their fraud department and following checks with the organisation the man purported to be from, the order was cancelled. Detective Inspector Charlotte Cadden, said: “Without question these two incidents are linked. “When efforts to obtain seven Audi vehicles were foiled, similar attempts were made with a BMW dealership. “In both cases the offender used the same name and purported to be from the same business, which is a legitimate business based in Greater Manchester. “Had either attempt been successful then the dealership in question would have lost tens of thousands of pounds. Thankfully due diligence has prevailed and they have prevented the offender getting hold of any cars. “We will now be making enquiries to identify the person or persons involved but I want to highlight these offences so other car dealerships can be alert to them. “Additionally, if any other organisation has experienced something similar I would encourage them to contact us.” Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 11:08:35 +0000