How to Spot Car Scams on Craigslist
Car scams on Craigslist are popular ways that scammers easily trick potential car buyers out of thousands of dollars. Car scams can leave potential buyers without money and the security of knowing that their identity is safe.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
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1
Log on to Craigslist and look for a deal on a car. Some of the most successful Craigslist car scams involve used cars that are rare or "classics."
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2
Look for expensive cars listed for a price well below their market value. Scammers use very obvious deals to get potential victims interested in doing business with them.
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Respond to the ad. Get an immediate reply from the scammer telling you the reason why he is selling the car, even though the details are irrelevant. Scammers usually refer to an overseas move and difficulty in transferring the car into the new country.
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4
Note that that the scammer is only willing to give you a limited amount of information about his identity. In some cases, the scammer may give you more information than is needed, but the information will be fake or unverifiable.
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5
Refuse to close the transaction without seeing the car. The seller will try to convince you to use a supposedly secure escrow service to transfer and hold your money until the transaction has been completed. The escrow service will be associated with a company that you've never heard of or based in a foreign country. In some cases, the scammer will insist that you wire money.
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Understand that if you use the escrow service or wire money to the scammer the car will never be delivered and you'll lose your money.
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Tips & Warnings
Car sellers may also be targeted on Craigslist. Scammers that claim to want to buy the vehicle may send them fake checks that bounce days or weeks after the completed transaction.
Scammers may also ask for your financial information to take funds out of your bank account.
Scammers may refer to a buyer protection plan to cover your purchase. However, Craigslist does not offer a buyer protection plan.
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Comments
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Its not just cars, its a lot of high ticket items, atvs, boats, motorcycles, etc. I never seriously even look at a craigslist ad unless it has a local telephone number listed on it. The easiest way to tell if an ad is a scam is copy and paste the ad on google or some other search engine and the exact same ad will appear on craigslist in another city entirely. I live in southern Illinois and an ad that was listed for a couple of late model atvs and trailer for like $2500(actual retail value was about 3 times that)as being in southern Illinois also appeared in Los Angeles and Buffalo New York. NEVER EVER send money to anyone on craigslist. Always do your business on Craigslist in person, face-to-face using cold hard cash.
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Be careful when buying or selling your vehicle on Craigslist. If you need help buying or selling your vehicle let me know and I will help.
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Currently a person is selling a car for 2500 which should sell for between 8-11,000. Says needs money for mortgage. Had the username in a gmail account. Listing found in Georgia Craigslist. Seller says she is in CA. Red Flag there! Says husband is in a shipping company and can ship the car anywhere for free. Says will sell through Ebay's Buyer Protection Plan. Have traded emails with the person...she provided vin# and glowing details of the car - photos on craigslist. IF this car is real and the price is so low, it could be sold rapidly with a simple sign in the car For Sale - $2500! This has got to be a scam. Wish I knew for sure....its got to be too good to be true......
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Hey I was just speaking with 2 people concerning 2 different cars sounds to good to be true. If ebay covers the sale how does it actually work
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Today I am dealing with a scammer who is selling a 14,000. vehicle for 2480.00. A sob story and a autobuyer protection plan. I told him I am a lawyer and want documents, addresses, names, drivers license photo etc. I also said I am rich and the money is his as soon as he verifies who he is. sucka...
