Fake Escrow Scams

This fraud revolved around the scammer setting up a fake website offering escrow services.

Escrow services act as a third party in a long distance sale, A genuine Escrow Service allows sellers to send goods safe in the knowledge that funds exist and are being held safely until the goods have been delivered. In turn, the buyer can feel secure in that the car can be seen, checked for suitability/condition and the money will only be paid over when this is confirmed to the Escrow Service. In this scam however, the fake escrow site is run by the "seller" and is therefore not the safe place for your money that it appears to be.

When used with car sales the "seller" normally asks for money to be paid into a specific escrow service before they will bring the car for you to view. Costs of shipping the car from one country to another, or problems wih timewasters are commonly used excuses for wanting to use an escrow service. Once the money is paid to the escrow service it will immediately be transfered out by the "seller" who will disappear, never to be seen again.

The fraud can also work the other way, a fraudulent buyer can attempt to trick a seller into handing over a car that haven't been paid for by simply sending an official-looking e-mail from a fake escrow service stating that funds have been received and to go ahead and with transfer of the vehicle. The scammer will disappear with the car and the fake escrow service will string the seller along for long enough for them to make a clean get away.

While genuine ecscrow services can be a good precaution, you should be EXTREMELY wary of anyone who insists on using a particular site. NEVER follow links given in emails, always navigate to the site yourself via a search engine. Check any site out VERY carefully before using it, The fake websites can be extremely hard to spot. Several sites (including Ebay) maintain lists of genuine escrow services which should always be checked.

If in any doubt, do not send any money to anyone. There are always plenty more cars on the market which are not scams. if it looks to good to be true, it probably is.

"Quick Sale Required"

A scam that has emerged this year is from con artists claiming to have a reason for selling very, very quickly. Sometimes this is to do with a claim that they've had to move out to mainland Europe at short notice they say the are in a rush to sell and that the car is cheaply priced because of that.

Bargain cars always attract a lot of responses, especially via email. The fraudsters then try to get potential buyers to send large deposits to secure either delivery of the car or first look at it. The car probably doesn't even exist - often the pictures have the number plates blanked out or inconsistencies. IF THE PRICE OF A CAR SEEMS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE - TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS! If anyone's ever in a hurry to sell a car they can sell it to a dealer at a knockdown price rather than punt it around the internet.

Foreign Buyers/Agents

The most common scam attempted via the internet is of a foreign buyer or agent wanting to buy your car or bike despite not having seen it. They say they'll agree to the asking price. The details of the scam vary, but usually start with asking for your name, address and sometimes bank details.

Sadly, you need to be suspicious of any buyers from Africa for this reason. Sometimes these scams also originate in the Netherlands.

BE WARY OF ANY BUYER WHO SHOWS MORE INTEREST IN OBTAINING PERSONAL DETAILS THAN THE CONDITION OF THE GOODS THAT YOU'RE SELLING.

Overpayment

NEVER ACCEPT PAYMENT FOR MORE THAN THE AGREED PRICE. These scams usually involve faked cheques or bank transfers that exceed the agreed amount. The criminals request that you send them the difference when they discover the 'mistake'. Subsequently the banks then discover that the cheques were fake or that the bank transfer wasn't of valid funds and debit your account leaving you out of pocket.

Armed Robbery

There have been cases where buyers looking for a particular model have placed wanted ads on the internet. The advertiser has then been contacted by email or phone and offered a car matching the specification required. The buyer is then requested to meet the seller and to take cash.

Upon arrival the buyer is met by two men, threatened with a gun and forced to hand over the cash.

It sounds obvious, but even experienced motor traders have been taken in by plausible stories like this. NEVER AGREE TO TAKE CASH WITH YOU . Also, ask for enough details of the car to satisfy your curiosity that the car is in their possession and that they are familiar with it (particularly if it's a specialist car).