The risk of fraud increases with online contracts

Renting yes, but without risking nasty surprises. With the growing digital world and the possibility of concluding contracts online, car hire companies are also having to deal with scams. The victims are customers contacted by fake operators offering non-existent services. The alarm comes from Aniasa, the industry association, which calls for the utmost attention to be paid to avoid unpleasant inconveniences. In addition to financial damage for the victims, the scams naturally represent a critical issue for the rental companies themselves, since they are carried out by fraudsters posing as operators in the sector or intermediary agencies. In fact, the scam only emerges when it is too late, often at the moment when the customer turns up at the rental company's premises and realises that there is no booking in his or her name. There are increasing cases of users searching for short-term car rental solutions via search engines and being directed to pages with fraudulent sponsored advertisements: falling for this is not difficult, because they are constructed using keywords very similar to those used by real car rental companies. After establishing initial contact by phone, the conversation typically continues on instant messaging apps, through which the fake operators send quotes and request advance payment for the entire rental, to which a security deposit may also be added. Payments are requested by bank transfer, mostly instant.

In order not to take any risks, Aniasa reminds people to pay attention first of all to the contacts with whom they converse. Email communications from rental companies only come from addresses with a company domain, and phone calls only come from numbers published on official websites. Above all, never use messaging apps, phone calls or other informal channels to finalise contracts. Maximum attention should also be paid to payment systems: it is very likely that you will be confronted with a scam when you are asked to make advances or deposits to personal accounts, prepaid cards or non-traceable payment systems.