BKA warns of new scam

According to the BKA, car thefts in Germany are increasing – and the perpetrators are becoming more and more unscrupulous. A new trend called “homejacking” was particularly concerning.

If the car suddenly disappears, it doesn’t necessarily have to be theft. Sometimes the vehicle was simply parked incorrectly and towed away. Or: The owner simply forgot where he parked the car – as happened recently to a Dacia driver who was only able to find his car with the help of the police. However, the current statistics show Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA)that the car thefts in Germany have actually taken place.

According to the BKA, the embezzlement of rental and leasing vehicles has increased sharply

In 2023 there were loud BKA In Germany, 15,924 cars were stolen, an increase of nine percent compared to the previous year. What is particularly striking is the increase in “cars permanently lost due to embezzlement”. According to the authority, this includes, for example, rental cars that are not returned or leased vehicles that are sold without the lessor’s consent. These cases increased by 18.6 percent to 2,827 compared to the previous year.

The insurance umbrella organization GVD also recently published figures on car thefts in Germany. In this analysis, 14,585 thefts were reported, which corresponds to an increase of almost 19 percent. The difference to the police figures arises from the fact that insurers only take comprehensively insured cars into account in their statistics.

The United Arab Emirates is a popular sales market for cars stolen in Germany

The BKA evaluation shows that Eastern Europe is still an important destination and transit region for international vehicle shipments. Turkey is therefore a central transit state for vehicles stolen in Germany that go to the Middle East. From there, the cars are transported either overland or in overseas containers. According to the authorities, the United Arab Emirates in particular is now a popular sales market for high-quality vehicles and vehicle parts stolen in Germany.