Spam warning: Scammers lure with alleged fuel-saving dongles

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Spammers are currently exploiting the persistently high gasoline and diesel prices to sell useless OBD2 dongles to victims. These are supposed to manipulate the engine to consume less fuel. However, this is not possible at all; they are useless plugs for the OBD2 socket.

The promises in the spam mail may sound plausible at first glance: ECU configurations are said to be "deliberately conservative," but allegedly cause "German drivers to pay thousands of euros for wasted fuel." The reason for the supposedly unnecessary excess consumption – the spam mail claims up to 35 percent of fuel is wasted – is that manufacturers "calibrate engines for the widest possible range of conditions, not for your specific driving habits."

Less fuel consumption and a smoother driving experience

The scammers claim that the "compact chip" is plugged into the car's OBD2 port and analyzes the "engine control unit data in real-time." Based on this, it adjusts "injection, boost pressure, and ignition timing to your driving style." This suddenly brings up to "55 percent less fuel consumption, a smoother driving feel, and savings that amortize within 30 days." According to the included instructions in the spam mail, the calibration takes place within 30 seconds, during which you should turn on the ignition and "hold" it. The dongle then learns during normal driving and adapts.

Pressure on victims through allegedly "limited stock"

To prevent victims from hesitating and thinking too long, the spam mail creates time pressure. These dongles are currently sold out in retail stores and are therefore only available online. The stock is also "extremely limited." Combined with the not-so-high price of around 30 euros, this could tempt some to fall for this offer.

However, some clues in the email suggest that this cannot be a reputable offer. The deviating promises regarding savings, which range from 35 percent at one point to even 55 percent later, are the most obvious. The supposedly changed parameters come from specific characteristic maps of the respective engines; they are intended to optimize combustion regarding performance and especially exhaust gas aftertreatment. Interventions in these would lead to altered raw emissions that catalytic converters cannot sufficiently process. In the extreme case, they would invalidate the operating permit.

The offer does not explain how all this is supposed to work. Each manufacturer has its own characteristic maps for engine control parameters, sometimes also vehicle-specific registers in the OBD2 data output. A dongle would need to know all of these or at least come with a compatibility list.

No new scam idea

The c't took a closer look at such dongles, which turned out to be "factory-fresh electronic scrap." However, they only promised "15 percent fuel savings." A look at the hardware and concrete tests also showed: no bidirectional communication signals are transmitted via the OBD2 interface. This was proven by looking at the connected oscilloscope. Only a few LEDs blink after connecting the 12-volt power supply.

There is no such simple solution to reduce consumption for the current high fuel prices without changing habits. What actually helps save fuel: leaving the car at home and covering distances on foot, by bike, or using public transport.

(dmk)