Twelve cases reported by the Belgian press, and what they teach us. NUR Label press review, October 2026 edition.
Twenty-three searches in Courcelles, Charleroi, Mouscron and Menen. According to the investigation, cars stolen in France were given a false identity in Belgium, with fake chassis number labels and duplicate plates, before being resold. Fourteen disguised vehicles were seized.
To check: the chassis number in several places on the vehicle, compared with the documents and the plates.
Read the article (new tab)Nine arrests in Italy, Spain and Belgium. The network got around security systems with electronic tools, then disguised the vehicles with chassis numbers and plates from cars taken off the road. Vehicles and parts, batteries included, left through the port of Antwerp.
To check: the vehicle’s electronic identifiers, compared with the stamped chassis number and the documents.
Read the article (new tab)A buyer from the Liège area spots a car on a German platform priced well below its value. He goes to France twice, to see it and then to pay for it: €23,000. The vehicle passes customs and the roadworthiness test. It is at the registration desk that it shows up as stolen.
To check: a price that is too low, a seller who is not the holder of the documents, and the vehicle’s status before paying.
Read the article (new tab)Three months after the theft, the vehicle resurfaces with buyers who paid about €8,000 for it, for a value close to €32,000. It was still in its owner’s name and reported stolen. The courts returned it to the owner, despite the buyers’ good faith.
To check: is the seller the registered holder? Why such a low price?
Read the article (new tab)Six searches and three arrests. According to the investigation, vehicles stolen in France entered Belgium with altered chassis numbers and false documents, before being resold by car trading companies.
To check: does the chassis number stamped on the body match the documents and the manufacturer’s plates?
Read the article (new tab)In Colfontaine, a couple buys a car that actually belongs to a leasing company. A few weeks later, the police come to seize it at their home. The seller is being prosecuted for forgery and fraud.
To check: who is the real owner of the vehicle? Is a lease or a loan outstanding? Have the declaration free of charges signed.
Read the article (new tab)Sold online for a few euros, a box stops the odometer from recording the kilometres while the car is being driven. The Car-Pass limits this fraud, but it exists. A garage owner points out that other control units in the vehicle keep track of the real mileage.
To check: the Car-Pass and the service history, compared with the odometer and the wear of the vehicle.
Read the article (new tab)A 2018 van shows about 395,000 km, while an earlier record showed nearly 891,000 km. According to Car-Pass, imported vehicles weigh far more heavily in odometer fraud than in sales.
To check: for an imported vehicle, the mileage history in its country of origin, as well as the Car-Pass.
Read the article (new tab)In Bastogne, a couple orders a new car and receives the invoice by e-mail. Fraudsters intercepted it and changed the account number. The garage never receives the money, and the difference only shows when the two invoices are compared.
To check: the seller’s account number, confirmed by phone or in person before a large transfer.
Read the article (new tab)A website offers cheap used cars using the name and address of an existing garage. The cars do not exist. Some fifty people turn up at the real garage to collect a vehicle paid for in advance.
To check: call the garage’s official number, not the one on the site, and see the vehicle before paying.
Read the article (new tab)Listings for cars well below the market price ask for payment before any viewing, often to a foreign account. The newsroom found a fake listing that reused the photos of a real listing, three times more expensive.
To check: a reverse image search of the photos, whether the price makes sense, and see the vehicle before paying anything.
Read the article (new tab)A Brussels resident agrees to swap his car for a recent saloon, with cash on top. His online checks show nothing. A week later, the saloon is reported stolen in France and seized outside his home. His own car has already been resold.
To check: why only one key is handed over, and the vehicle’s status with the authorities.
Read the article (new tab)Press review by NUR Label. External cases, unrelated to NUR Label. The summaries are written by NUR Label from the articles cited; each article belongs to its media outlet.
Stolen car, reported abroad, altered chassis number, copied plates: the vehicle is not what it claims to be.
Mileage wiped, hidden damage, lease or loan still running: the vehicle does exist, but its past has been disguised.
Fake site, fake listing, deposit before the viewing, hacked invoice: the money goes to an account that cannot be traced.
What NUR Label does: NUR Label searches the vehicle’s identity and history for you in the sources consulted (theft, damage, loan or lien, mileage), and the Full Inspection adds the physical and electronic examination of the vehicle. For the sale itself, your reflexes make the difference: see the vehicle and confirm the account number before paying.
including 543 on imported vehicles. Source: Car-Pass, annual report 2025.
more than 27,000 in five years. Source: Federal Police, figures reported by La Libre (28/02/2025).
during targeted checks in 2025. Source: FPS Economy, reported by L’Avenir (03/08/2026).
Fraud evolves. So does our method.
