Drivers in Berlin have recently been subjected to a cunning new scam, carried out by a mystery company going by the name of Yana GmbH.

Car scam hits Berlin drivers

An unlucky group of drivers have fallen victim to a new scam in Berlin. A “towing service” going by the name of Yana GmbH has been illegally seizing parked vehicles and demanding drivers pay a hefty fine to get their wheels back.

According to the German broadcaster rbb, Yana GmbH claimed its first victim back at the beginning of June, when a Berliner named Georgi Komitov returned to his parking spot to find his car missing. 

Komitov contacted the police who searched his licence plate number, found that his car had been towed and gave him the phone number of the company in question. Once he got in touch with Yana, which was only reachable via WhatsApp, he was asked to pay 476 euros in order to find out where his car was.

Yana GmbH carried out a car kidnapping frenzy

Unsure of what else to do Komitov paid the fine, but was left feeling like something was not right. Since his car had been parked in a supermarket car park when it got towed, he could prove that there had never been an official tow request submitted for it.

Eventually, police got back in touch with Komitov to tell him that he hadn’t lost his marbles. Yana GmbH had in fact been gallivanting around the Spandau district for the first week of June, taking a total of 58 cars for high-cost ransom. Police are now warning drivers in Berlin to question any notices they receive for an ultra-high fine.

Thumb image credit: Tommy Alven / Shutterstock.com