2023-10-25 19:26:32
Published25. October 2023, 9:26 p.m
Used cars: “A car buyer cannot recognize MFK fraud”
Traffic expert Thomas Riesen explains how MFK fraud might occur and gives tips on how to avoid buying cars with false registration.
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Police on Wednesday busted a group of people who were committing fraud during MFK checks.
ZSZ
They are accused of smuggling older motor vehicles, some of which were in poor condition, through the MFK in order to sell them as supposedly presented vehicles or to redeem them in various cantons.
The cars with incorrect registration might now end up on the streets.
20min/News-Scout
That’s what it’s regarding
An MFK fraud ring smuggled numerous cars through registration.
Former traffic expert Thomas Riesen explains in an interview how this might happen.
A large MFK fraud ring managed to put numerous older vehicles back into circulation, some of them in poor condition, with false certificates. 30 people are accused and police arrested around a dozen people on Wednesday. Thomas Riesen, a qualified traffic expert for driver and vehicle tests and formerly employed at the Aargau Road Traffic Office, classifies the background and dangers.
What do you say regarding this case?
According to the public prosecutor’s office, fortunately there is only one traffic expert among the almost 30 accused. I have to say that I wouldn’t trust any of my former work colleagues to do something like that. This incident just shows one thing: wherever people work, human errors or inadequacies must be expected. For all the traffic experts who do good and important work in Switzerland every day, the proportion of black sheep is extremely small.
I am convinced that an x-fold number of fraud attempts take place in which – with very few exceptions – the employees in the authorities and external testing centers remain steadfast and carry out their job professionally and incorruptibly in the name of road safety.
How might a fraud of this magnitude occur?
The road traffic offices are ISO certified and the processes are very precisely defined. Random samples are taken and the experts also have professional pride. They have no interest in cheating themselves or supporting a scam. If an inconsistency is noticed, it is reported to superiors.
In addition, the vehicles are randomly assigned to traffic experts for testing, so in my opinion fraud is even less likely in a large office than in a small branch office. I consider the chance of a successful fraud to be very small. In this case, the exception proves the rule.
It is not known how many affected fraudulent cars are on the road. What dangers do they pose?
Damage or wear on a vehicle that has an acute impact on operational safety is most often noticeable through noise or other means. Here the driver will act out of his own interest.
I assume that the scams mentioned were used to avoid costly environmental repairs – such as diesel particulate filters, catalytic converters or glowing check engine lights. It is also conceivable to me that body damage or parts of the airbag system were not repaired professionally.
In addition, vehicles that are registered in countries where the same standards do not apply drive through Switzerland every day. Since the media is not full of reports of accidents involving such vehicles, I rule out the possibility that we will see accidents on our roads directly because of this fraud case.
Can car buyers tell if the MFK test is real?
There is no reason to doubt the authenticity and quality of the MFK test. Hundreds of vehicle tests take place in Switzerland every day in absolutely compliance with the rules. If the fraud was committed with the help of an insider, the layperson will not be able to recognize a fraud on paper.
In general, however, I recommend the following: Buy your vehicle from a garage you trust, take it for a test drive – and listen to your gut feeling.
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