Scam Alert: Car Sales Scams, Repo Rip-Offs

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Scammers have found a new route to bilking online car shoppers out of thousands of dollars: Posing as legitimate dealerships, crooks set up fraudulent look-alike websites that claim to be

selling repossessed vehicles at bargain prices.

You are asked for a wired deposit of up to $5,000 to reserve a hugely discounted car. Send the money to a dealership salesperson rather than the business itself, you’re told: This lets you

avoid paying taxes on the purchase.

But when you arrive at the authentic dealership to claim the car and pay the balance, you discover you’ve been taken for a ride: There is no car. And no way to get your money back.

So far, repo rip-off websites have masqueraded as the sites of legit dealerships in at least eight states—Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, Tennessee and Texas.

“Car shoppers will think that they’re buying a car from a reputable business,” says Stephen A. Cox, president of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, in a news release about the ploy.

“The truth is, they’re being sold a bill of goods by a coordinated, agile and in all likelihood overseas outfit of scammers.”

Victims are steered to the fraudulent websites through Internet searches or advertisements in local car-selling publications, often fooled by look-alike website addresses: The scam site’s

address may differ by just a letter or two from that of a real dealership’s site.

While repo deception is the latest car scam, there are other methods of targeting online car shoppers.

One involves Internet advertisements placed on Craigslist and other sale sites by “private sellers” who also request wire-transfer deposits or payment. Their incredible offers are often

explained by a hard-luck story: The car needs to be sold right away because its owner is a soldier being deployed to Afghanistan or an unemployed single mother who needs quick cash.

Another variation involves phony escrow companies, which also may steal the names of legitimate businesses. After posting a vehicle for sale online, the scammer refers the buyer to an

alleged third party that promises a safe online transaction by collecting the purchase money, again usually requesting a wire transfer.

If you’re shopping for a car online, here’s how to protect yourself:

Sid Kirchheimer is author of Scam-Proof Your Life, published by AARP Books/Sterling.

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