Police warn of leasing scam targeting young people

Police in Jura canton are warning of a new fraud scheme in which people lease cars in their own names for others. Four young men and women have already fallen victim, SRF reported.

The scheme begins with an apparently lucrative offer. Victims provide their personal details, visit a leasing company and sign a contract. They then hand the vehicle to a third party in return for a promised payment of several hundred francs per month.

The first known case in Jura was reported in May. Sébastien Frund, head of the Jura criminal police, told French-language broadcaster RTS that victims are initially assured the arrangement is legal and that they only need to provide their names. The vehicle often then disappears from circulation, probably travelling abroad, particularly to France, where it may be used for criminal purposes.

People who sign the contracts can face criminal consequences, including possible investigations for embezzlement. They also remain responsible to the leasing company. If the monthly payments stop, the company will contact the person who signed the contract, Frund said.

Contract holders may also receive fines for traffic offences committed with the vehicle, including offences recorded by speed cameras. Police in Jura are urging the public never to sign a leasing contract in their own name if someone else will use the vehicle. Similar cases have also been recorded by police in the cantons of Geneva and Neuchâtel.