Car rental fraud suspects nailed

Two suspects have been detained for allegedly signing fraudulent car rental contracts with people, Shanghai police said on Friday.

The suspects signed cheap long-term car rental contracts with the victims and rented cars from a large car rental company with the term of only one month.

Over 40 people in Pudong New Area and Baoshan District have fallen victim to the fraud since 2017 and lost more than one million yuan (US$160,000), police said.

Pudong police started investigation in February this year after one of the victims reported that he had lost over 20,000 yuan to the suspects.

The victim, a man surnamed Zhang, said he signed a three-month contract with a small car rental in Chuansha Town in September last year, paid deposit and monthly rents and extended the contract at the end of last year.

Zhang said the deal was attractive because it was much cheaper than those signed with large car rentals.

One day in January, Zhang found the rented car gone, which the suspects explained that it was only temporary. But the suspects were also gone out of touch after a few days.

Police said the large car rental has a policy that after the rental period expires with no payments for extension, the car will be taken back after two or three months.

The suspects have allegedly confessed.