How to Avoid Scams When Buying Cars Online

Fraud emails are increasingly common and often increasingly hard to ‘de-code’ as fake. A recent scam has seen emails from the GOV.uk or DVLA domain sent offering refunds on car tax if a link is clicked. The link will request personal details such as address and banking details. If enough information is filled in the criminals can then extort money or use details for identity theft. Money extortion is almost impossible to track as the criminals will more often than not ‘disappear’ straight after the transaction.  

Renew your license physically by going to the Post Office if you’re concerned about fraud emails. Be cautious of any websites requesting personal details that are ‘over and above’ normal declarations such as mother’s maiden name and length of time at an address. Never enter your bank details through a link you weren’t suspecting. 

Car-clocking has been around for years and is possibly one of the first car scams around. Online sales make it increasingly difficult to be able to identify this. The number of cars with mileage discrepancies is on the rise. The process involves the reduction of the car’s mileage manually to increase the sale price. Spotting this when viewing a car in person is hard. Spotting this when buying online is virtually impossible. 

Check the vehicle’s history which will offer you an annual mileage record. Cars with full-service history will have their service book stamped with the mileages. 

The virtual vehicle scam is one of the more popular routes for car scams. Simply, the vehicle does not exist for sale and the ad is a cloned ad from another site. Criminals will duplicate an ad, place it on popular trade sites to extract money from a buyer. The price tag will be reduced marginally to make the vehicle an attractive buy. The vehicle carries all the checks, photos, and HPI check you’d expect from a legitimate seller – purely because the advert is legitimate – it’s just cloned.

How do you spot the scam? Keep an eye on contact details. The seller may ask you to contact them via email, rather than the advertising site’s methods. The number given by the ‘car dealer’ will most likely go straight to voicemail. Always be mindful of the reason for sale and never transfer money without viewing the car in person first.

TModern cars are more resilient to identity changes and yet criminals are finding other methods to disguise a car’s identity. Cloning is one of the most popular methods. Cloning involves taking a ‘healthy’ vehicle’s identity and, applying it to another vehicle which has usually been stolen. The criminal will swap number plates, registration document and even the VIN (vehicle identification number) to convince a buyer that the vehicle is genuine. Often the vehicle will still have outstanding finance on it or large fines.

Unfortunately, the consequences of buying a cloned vehicle are you will lose not only your money but, the vehicle itself which will be seized by the police. Claiming insurance money back will be a long and more often than not, unsuccessful task.

Carry out a data history check to make sure the vehicle details are correct. Colour, engine size, and date of first registration are important. The vehicle should be based at the address listed on the V5. Ask for ID to match the address including photo ID and utility bills.