On Thursday morning (October 8th) two young Syrians were arrested at Munich’s main train station (Hauptbahnhof). They had fraudulently tried to sell a Syrian family travel plans and a ticket to a Bayern Munich football match as tickets to Amsterdam. A volunteer, who takes care of incoming migrants and refugees at the main station, noticed this and informed the police.

The Federal Police (Bundespolizei) sees itself confronted with an increasing number of such incidents, where “caring” compatriots are trying to take advantage of the misfortune of the migrants and refugees pouring into Germany and arriving at the Bavarian capitol.

This morning at 6:30 am the two arrested young men (20 and 21 years of age) were trying to sell the football ticket and the travel plan to a family of six. They were arrested shortly before they could sell the “tickets” for 222 EUR. They each had more travel plans and tickets to sell, as well as 700 and 400 EUR in their pockets as they were arrested. Both men are asylum seekers in Germany.

Apprehending such perpetrators is often difficult for law enforcement because the scammers leave the station shortly after the sale takes place, and they can usually only be identified if they have already been suspected of a crime. The police have informed that the incidents do not seem to be part of a larger scale operation, but have also pointed out that not all scams are being reported, for many of the victims do not want to be registered in Germany.
A flyer on Arabic will be printed and handed out at border crossings and areas in order to warn and prevent migrants from buying tickets outside of official ticket offices.