Used Car Buying Scams

CarSite.co.uk Buying Advice

Premium Rate Scams - 070 and 09 Numbers

Car Buyers should be on their guard for premium rate phone scams.

Although many people are aware of the premium rate numbers beginning with 09, many are unaware of the premium rate numbers beginning with 070 - even though they’ve been around for many years.

It's something that anyone buying or selling a car needs to be aware of, whether they are online or going through more traditional channels.

Protecting the customer

CarSite has implemented a check system that blocks 070 and 09 numbers being used on the used-car advertisements, and also in any enquiry forms. This is to protect both the buyer and the seller. However, people may try to get round these checks - so we advise site users to be vigilant and check the number they are calling is a valid landline or genuine mobile number.

If you do call an 070 or 09 number, you will be charged at a minimum rate of 35p a minute (and possibly a lot more). So please be careful.

Increased Awareness

Dave Long, Managing Director of CarSite, says:

"It’s our duty to the users of the site to make sure they are protected from such scams. We feel it's part of the overall service we offer. The public needs to be aware of the costs of calling 09 and 070 numbers.

The 070 numbers are the biggest problem, as many are unaware that they exist - and could mistake them for a normal mobile phone number.

The scam is not limited to the Internet, and people need to be vigilant. If you receive a missed call or a text to your phone from a number you don’t recognise - stop, and think twice before you even consider calling them back. It could save you a few quid."

Warning - CarSite advises against selling or buying a car internationally online.

If you are buying or selling a car via the CarSite.co.uk website, please be careful to ensure the other party is legitimate.

You might receive an enquiry from someone from abroad claiming to be interested in the car you have advertised for sale. It is very unlikely that this is a legitimate enquiry.

Our advice is simple. Don’t buy or sell a car internationally online.

If you receive any email or phone call from someone outside the UK claiming that they are interested in your car we would advise you to ignore it, and do not engage in any further dialogue with them. It is more likely than not to be a scam.

Many people have been scammed from fraudsters who pretend to be genuine buyers. Some of these scams include counterfeit bank cheques and money orders, fake banks or escrow accounts - sometimes with a complex and heart-wrenching story to make it sound more legitimate. It is something that is not limited to cars, but due to the amount of money involved, you should be particularly concerned with any offer from an international buyer. If it sounds too good to be true - then it almost certainly is.

The same goes for buying a car online. If you attempt to buy a car internationally, then you must be extremely careful. Do you know who you are dealing with at the other end? Are they who they claim to be? What happens if you send them any money at all, and then you hear nothing from them and they don’t respond to any of your correspondence?

If you see an advertisement for a used car on CarSite and it appears that the seller is located outside the UK, please contact us immediately. CarSite will only allow advertisements from sellers within the UK.

Example of how a typical scam works

A number of advertisers have contacted us regarding e-mail scams they have received while advertising on our website. Whilst these scams have only affected a small minority of our customers it is a recognised scam that has the potential to leave sellers thousands of pounds out of pocket.

The scam, officially known as the West African advance fee or 419 fraud involves a buyer from abroad (we’ve had examples from Holland, USA, Nigeria) posing as an international dealer who wants to buy a vehicle. They claim that they are owed money by a client in the UK who will send a bankers draft for the full price of the vehicle, plus a few extra thousand to cover the cost of the shipping without viewing the vehicle or proof of condition and usually put their lack of phone number down to a temporary fault.

The emails are often full of spelling mistakes and poor grammar to persuade the victim that the fraudster is an uneducated person who wouldn’t have the ability to defraud them. The fraudsters also try to make themselves seem genuine by stating that the vehicle is a present for their wife, son, daughter, or even to break up for parts, because of the value in second hand parts abroad etc and use this as reason for the urgency involved in the purchase. Many of the emails are signed off with a comment like ‘regards to you and your family’ or ‘may the peace of lord be with you.’

The seller is then asked to pay the draft into their bank and wire the excess money to the buyer to pay for the shipping costs. The bank draft itself may seem genuine but be wary; we’ve had reports of bank drafts being accepted which have watermarks and bank branch stamps on them but are revealed as forgeries after being paid into the bank.

After the money has been sent, the seller hears nothing more from the ‘buyer’. Normally, the bank will contact the seller after a few days to tell them that the bankers draft was stolen forged or that it has bounced so check with your bank how long it will take for a bankers draft to be given value. (Ask the bank if you can withdraw funds safely on the cheque rather than if it’s cleared as there is a difference between a cheque being cleared and funds in the account). If the bankers draft is forged the money will be stripped from the sellers account, leaving them thousands of pounds out of pocket. Customers have informed us that neither their banks nor insurance companies could help to mitigate their losses. The Police suggest that if you receive an email which you believe could relate to a scam, cause the sender some inconvenience by forwarding a copy of the email to the Internet Service Provider from where the email originated.

If you receive a letter through the post, throw it away - the sender has not targeted you personally.

Be extra vigilant when selling a vehicle - particularly if there seems to be anything out of the ordinary.

Remember; never release the vehicle until you have confirmed with your bank that the bankers draft has been given value and is cleared in your bank. With this scam it can be days before the seller is told that the cheque is fake or stolen, so be wary.

CarSite’s advice

Do not sell to an international buyer and do not buy from an international seller. It is the easiest way to avoid becoming part of an international Scam. Only deal with UK buyers and sellers.

Used Car Buying Scams - CarSite.co.uk Buying Advice (2/8)

CarSite.co.uk Buying Advice