With the first cold days, many households look for firewood, pellets or heating oil. Every year in this period, online shops go live that offer fuel cheaply, demand prepayment and never deliver. The German police crime prevention service (ProPK) explicitly names firewood, wood pellets and heating oil as seasonal goods in high demand that fake shops use as bait.
This article shows how to recognise a fuel fake shop before you order, how to check a dealer independently of the shop, and what you can do if you have already paid. It also includes a figure from our own database.
Autumn 2026: police report new cases
The scam is running again this autumn. On 24 September 2026, the Trier police headquarters reported that several victims had come forward in recent weeks after ordering heating oil online and receiving neither the goods nor a refund.According to the police, the shops use data of real companies in their legal notice, partly with genuine trade register entries, addresses and tax numbers. They also use stolen product photos and fake reviews. The police ask companies whose data is misused in this way to get in touch.
One day later, the Aurich/Wittmund police warned of offers for firewood, pellets and other heating fuels. Several cases had been reported there in the preceding days, each with a loss of several hundred to several thousand euros. In some cases the perpetrators copied the pages of real dealers.After the transfer they keep in touch via WhatsApp and cite delivery problems as the reason for the delay. The police point out that this lets time pass in which a payment might still have been reversed. Some buyers received inferior products instead of the goods they ordered.
What our own list currently shows
Our fake shop list contains domains confirmed as fake shops through a warning list, a data feed, an automatic rule or a manual review. On 3 October 2026 we analysed the 200 most recent entries. They were classified between 23 September and 2 October 2026.
In 11 of these 200 domains the fuel already appears in the name. Eight contain “holz” (German for wood), four of them “brennholz” (firewood) and one “kaminholz” (fireplace wood). One contains “pellet”, two contain “heiz” or “heizoel” (heating, heating oil). The count only covers what is in the domain name.Shops with neutral names that still sell fuel are not included. The figure is therefore a lower bound. You can follow the ongoing development in the situation report.
How to recognise a fuel fake shop
Consumer advice centres, police and Watchlist Internet describe the same features. None of them proves fraud on its own. If several occur together, do not order there.
- Price below market level. According to Watchlist Internet, the offers are always clearly below the usual market average, but not so far below that they look unrealistic at first glance. Compare the price with two or three dealers in your region.
- Only prepayment at the end. The shop displays several payment methods. In the last order step only the bank transfer remains. Watchlist Internet reports that the operators usually cite technical problems as the reason.
- In stock where everyone else is sold out. The consumer advice centre calls it a warning sign when a shop is the only one still delivering heating oil or heating material that is sold out elsewhere.
- Switching to a messenger. If the operators suggest handling the order via WhatsApp or another app, Watchlist Internet considers this a particularly clear warning signal.
- Gaps in the legal notice. Under Section 5 of the German Digital Services Act (DDG), the legal notice must include name, address, a quick way to make contact and, for registered companies, the trade register and number. If any of this is missing, order elsewhere.
A complete list of the general warning signs with examples is on the page Spotting a fake shop.
Copied company data: when the legal notice looks genuine
A complete legal notice is not yet proof. In October 2025, the Lower Bavaria police headquarters reported several cases involving heating material. One victim contacted the company named in the legal notice after paying. The company existed, and its company profile had been used for a fake page.
So check whether shop and company belong together. Look up the company’s phone number yourself, for example via the trade register or the company’s own website, and call there. The number in the shop may lead to the operators. How this works with trade register numbers is explained in the article Genuine HRB number, fake shop.
Another signal is the domain age. Watchlist Internet describes how operators open new shops and register new addresses after a takedown. A dealer who has delivered firewood for years rarely has a domain that is only a few weeks old. The shop check shows you the age and matches the legal notice against the trade register.
Checking a dealer: ENplus for pellets, invoice for everything
For wood pellets there is the ENplus quality mark. A logo on a website is just an image. Whether a dealer is certified is shown by the company search of the German mark issuer on enplus-pellets.de, where you search by company name or ENplus ID. For loose deliveries, according to ENplus, the delivery note must carry an ENplus ID or the certification mark with the logo.
For firewood and heating oil there is no comparable directory covering all dealers. Here the payment method helps most. The Lower Bavaria police advise: “Buying on invoice can protect against fraud.” Ask the dealer whether you can pay after delivery. You may also know many regional suppliers from your neighbourhood or from local farms.
With prepayment by bank transfer, the entire risk lies with you. Why this is so, and which payment methods protect you better, is explained in the article The prepayment trap.
Verification of Payee: what the name check shows
Since 9 October 2025, all banks in the euro area must compare the payee name you enter with the name on the account for bank transfers. BaFin describes three outcomes: the details match, they almost match and the bank shows you the registered name, or they differ and you receive a risk warning.
The check tells you whether name and account belong together. It does not check whether an honest dealer is behind the account. If the account is in the name the shop gives, the transfer appears unremarkable. The check matters when it shows a difference.If the shop presents itself as a limited company and the account belongs to a private person, stop the payment. Before a transfer you can also match the IBAN against reported fraud cases in the IBAN check.
Already paid: the next steps
- Call your bank immediately.
According to the consumer advice centre, a transfer can in some circumstances still be stopped. Many transfers today are booked in real time, and then even a quick call usually no longer helps. Try anyway. Details are under Recalling a bank transfer.
- Use a chargeback where one exists.
Under Section 675x of the German Civil Code you can reverse a SEPA direct debit within eight weeks of the debit. For credit cards, contact the card issuer. Deadlines per payment method are listed under Getting money back.
- Secure the records.
Order confirmation, emails, chat histories, screenshots of the offer and the bank statement. How to secure evidence so that it holds up later is explained under Securing evidence.
- File a police report.
This can be done online in all German federal states. The address of your state’s online police station is listed under Reporting offices. The article Reporting a fake shop explains the order of steps.
- Stay alert.
Watchlist Internet points out that the perpetrators now have your contact details and will probably try again with another scam. This includes supposed helpers who offer to recover your money for a fee.
In short
Buy fuel from dealers you know or whose company you can check independently of the shop. Pay on invoice or with a payment method that allows a chargeback. If the price is clearly lower than everywhere else and only a bank transfer remains at the end, cancel the order. If you are unsure, enter the address in the shop check.
