Tips to avoid Auction Scams
Scammers only need to get ONE person each week anywhere in the world taking
up their scam to make a very lucrative business for them.
Scams are all to frequent on the Internet these days, whether it is from
an auction site such as ebay or an email sent to someone advertising a classic
car for sale anywhere else. But there are ways of avoiding these scams whether
you are buying or selling a classic car online.
Some of the most obvious things in emails are very very bad grammar and/or
spelling. Most Nigerian email scams look as if they have been run through a
language translation website "goog day to you I bring you good news, of intrest
to me is your most excelent vehicle which was seen for advertised on the
internet at your most wunderful website" is an example of one email I received.
Beware of any sellers that offer to ship the car to you and if you don't like
it just send it back! Or the ones who offer to ship it for free. And never,
ever give your address to someone who says they will deliver the car to your
door for a nominal fee of something ridiculous like £1.
A few points to remember:
The chances are good you are being scammed when ..
- The deal REALLY is too good to be true.
- The seller says you can see the car AFTER you send a "fully refundable" deposit.
- The seller says he'll "ship the car and you can send it back if you don't like it".
- The seller doesn't give you his exact address and telephone number after you
tell him you have a friend in the area who you want to swing by to look at the car for you.
- The seller refuses to fax you a copy of the title (saying he's scared of scammers!)
- The seller says he knows little about the car or he's selling it for a friend.
- Emails LOOK like they come from ebay but the link you need to click on goes to
some strange website or just an ip address (192.168.1.1 or similar).
- They say that eBay will hold the money and oversee the deal - eBay Motors offer no such service.
Follow up on everything, check the seller our as much as you possibly can.
Type his/her name into google or anywhere else on the Internet you can find
to see if they show up anywhere else as being involved in a scam. If you are
on eBay, check the help and reviews section for any references to them. In
fact, check these
eBay Reviews and Guides for more information and tips on avoiding being
scammed, at least on eBay although the tips there can be applied to any auction
site as well as giving you an insight into how the scammers work.
One site to try is an American one which locates seized vehicles worldwide.
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