Online Car Sales: Don't Get Scammed
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Many individuals use the Internet to buy or sell cars. Although it may be an effective tool for potential buyers and sellers, the internet can also be a haven for fraudulent actors looking to make easy money at the expense of others.
How Some Scams Work
Overpayment
In an overpayment scam, a scam artist posing as a buyer sends a bad check or money order to a legitimate seller for more than the asking price of the car, instructing the seller to pay the overage to a third party for shipping or a commission. In reality, that third party is a fake entity set up by the scam artist buyer. Because sellers are often in a hurry to finalize the vehicle’s sale, the seller will typically cash the check or money order and make the payment to the scam artist’s third party before discovering that the original check or money order was fraudulent. Victims can be bilked out of thousands of dollars.
Fake Escrow
In an escrow scam, a scam artist posing as a seller advertises a car for sale online. After a buyer responds to the ad, the scam artist instructs the buyer to make a payment through a fake escrow service. Scam artists often misuse the names of well-known companies—such as eBay, PayPal, Amazon.com, or Apple—to perpetrate the scam. They send official-looking emails, often using the legitimate company’s logo and email format, that instruct the buyer to send money via gift cards or wire transfers, which are practically untraceable. Then, once the victim sends the money, he or she never receives the item and never hears from the scam artist again.
Payment Plans
In a payment plan scam, a scam artist posing as a buyer agrees to pay the seller for the car over an extended period. The scam artist may make a small, initial payment, but eventually stops paying before the full purchase price is paid. Because individual sellers are not finance companies, they have limited options to collect from the scam artist when payments stop coming.
Identity Theft
In an identity theft scam, a scam artist posing as a buyer is not really interested in buying the car, but rather in obtaining personal information from the seller. The scam artist may ask the seller for car maintenance records, bank account information, or social security numbers in an effort to obtain private information and defraud the seller.
Tips to Avoid Internet Scams
- If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
- Don’t be tricked into sending payments to fraudulent actors. If an individual is actually owed a commission or shipping fee, their client should be the party making the payment.
- Don’t be rushed. People often make poor decisions when they are hurried. If someone really wants to do business with you, they will wait until you are ready to make a legitimate transaction. Beware of an individual who wishes to make changes to the terms of the transaction, such as where or how you have to send a payment. Don’t let your eagerness to complete the transaction blind you to potential problems.
- Be on guard against offers that include overseas payments. If you send money to foreign countries, law enforcement agencies may lack jurisdiction to pursue criminals there.
- Beware of payments made by personal or cashier’s checks. Even though banks may make money readily available to a customer upon cashing a check, the check may not be authentic. Check authentication frequently takes several days, if not longer. Make sure the check has cleared with your bank before signing over the title to a buyer.
- Contact the bank or financial institution that the check is drawn from to determine whether the payment is legitimate. Don’t use the contact information that appears on the check, which may be forged to misdirect potential fraud victims. Instead, find such contact information independently, through legitimate directories or other sources.
- Use a secure escrow payment service of your choosing. Many online auction companies offer such a service for a low fee. Beware of demands that you use an escrow payment service you are unfamiliar with, or other unusual payment requests.
- Avoid buyers proposing payment plans, sellers requesting that you provide them with a deposit, and deals requiring wire transfers, gift cards, or reloadable cards. All of these methods of payment make it difficult to recoup your money in the case of a scam.
- Keep an eye out for individuals asking for sensitive information, such as social security numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, or online login information. Make sure you remove all personal information on any vehicle service records you provide to a buyer.
- Be aware that online marketplace sites like Craigslist don’t guarantee purchases made with individuals you have met on the site, despite what those individuals might claim.
- Document the entire process. Keep phone numbers, names, and other information of potential buyers and sellers.
Concerns About Internet Scams?
Contact the following agencies:
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Minneapolis Office
1501 Freeway Boulevard
Brooklyn Center, MN 55430
(763) 569-8000
www.ic3.gov (Internet Crime Complaint Center)
Federal Trade Commission
Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20580
(877) 382-4357
TTY: (866) 653-4261
www.reportfraud.ftc.gov
United States Secret Service
Minnesota Field Office
300 South Fourth Street, #750
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 348-1800
www.secretservice.gov
Office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
445 Minnesota Street, Suite 600
St. Paul, MN 55101
(651) 296-3353 (Twin Cities Calling Area)
(800) 657-3787 (Outside the Twin Cities)
(800) 627-3529 (Minnesota Relay)
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