HARDISON’S TIPS – FEBRUARY 2, 2021 – COMMON SCAMS TARGETING VEHICLE SELLERS
Location, Location, Location
Beware of someone you meet on Craigslist or via classified ads who is interested in purchasing your car but want to meet you in a private location. Crimes have occurred when sellers have gone to meet with so-called buyers in non-public locations.
Meet up in safe spaces – such as at a mechanic, where you can have the vehicle inspected in front of the buyer – while meeting in a public place; or in front of a police station; or in a public – commonly frequented parking lot, such as a large box store.
Make sure to meet the prospective buyer in a safe, public area. If possible, choose an area that has video surveillance cameras. Also, try not to meet a prospective buyer alone- take a family member or friend with you to the meeting.
Strange Financing Requests
Reject any weird financing requests from the buyer. These include the buyer wanting to send you a personal check with extra money included for you to ship the car. By the time you have shipped the car to the buyer, the check has bounced, and you are left with no car and no money to show for it. It’s best to let buyers know upfront that you will only accept cash for these types of sales.
Sometimes buyers offer to send you too much money, then want you to forward the money on to someone else. This is always a scam.
Be really careful with payment options, as these are the most common scams and sometimes the most difficult to detect. If you sell through Trusted Sale, we manage the whole transaction and the passing of money – to ensure you are protected.
Shipping a Vehicle
Unfortunately, most requests to ship a vehicle are typically scams. Maybe not always – but most often. Don’t ever agree to ship a vehicle to another country. Many of these requests, no matter how legitimate they sound, are scams.
It can be so easy to get caught up in the excitement of a sale that sometimes we let things slide, or justify the rationale in our minds. Don’t be too eager to close a deal that you miss warning signs. If the deal seems too good to be true or the sale goes through too easily, it probably is.
With a little forethought, you can successfully sell your vehicle online or in the classified ads. Just make sure to avoid scams like the ones above!