Tourists on the Spanish holiday are being plagued by fake speeding tickets. Spanish authorities have already confirmed the scam to local media. The tickets do not have to be paid.
Several tourists are currently experiencing problems after their holiday in Mallorca.
The scam apparently involves rental cars from the company Goldcar. At least it is the company's customers who receive the fake stalls in the mail.
The Spanish traffic authority, DGT, is now warning against false claims that often run up to 1,500 Danish kroner.
A German family from Trier received such a fake ticket. It happened at the end of February. The letter appeared to come from the Spanish traffic authority DGT. But it has nothing on it.
The shop was fined 200 euros, equivalent to approximately 1,500 Danish kroner. The family was accused of having too much alcohol in their rental car.
The family was very surprised, however. They had not used the car at all on the day mentioned in the letter. This immediately raised suspicions that something was wrong.
All the personal information in the letter was correct. The ID number, driver's license number, address, car model and license plate all matched. This initially made the letter credible.
Fake stalls: Details exposed the scam
But there was one important detail missing. The letter did not mention the possibility of a discount for prompt payment. This is otherwise normal practice in Spain and several other European countries.
Further investigation revealed several errors. The M-404 road, where the speeding allegedly occurred, is not on Mallorca at all. On the contrary, it is near Madrid.
The photo from the speed camera was also suspicious. It was unusually blurry. This reinforced the family's suspicion of fraud.
The family searched the internet for information. There they quickly found other tourists in the same situation. Several customers of the car rental company Goldcar had received similar letters.
Other victims have also reached out to local media in Mallorca. Discussions on the platform Reddit also point to problems related to Goldcar.
Suspicion of data leak at Goldcar
The Spanish transport authority DGT was asked about the matter. Their answer was clear: "It's a scam, don't pay!".
It is still unclear how the scammers got hold of the tourists' data. The Welzel family and other customers of the rental company suspect a data leak at Goldcar. Some even speculate that employees may have sold data or that the company has been hacked.
A spokesperson for Goldcar has confirmed to local Spanish media that they are aware of the problem. The company is aware of the counterfeit.
The spokesperson states that it has only affected a very small number of customers in Mallorca.
The police are investigating the case. The goal is to find the perpetrators behind the fake stalls. According to Goldcar, they did not knowingly disclose data about their customers.
The company promises to help all affected customers. They will also refund any amounts people may have paid in error at fake speed cameras.
However, it is always a good idea to check for any speed bumps from abroad if they land in your mailbox.
On Boosted you can find a lot more information about cars and traffic rules. For example, read about the city where all the photo vans have blown up.
