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Spring means flowers, buds and the return of used car scams

Post fake used car ads to steal deposit money

As the weather starts to warm up, used car scammers come out of hibernation, posting fake ads to lure car buyers. What to watch for.

By: John Matarese

Posted at 4:04 PM, Feb 20, 2024

and last updated 2024-02-20 16:04:08-05

Springtime marks the start of car buying season.

But with this year's used car prices still stubbornly high, a low price on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist can seem like a great deal.

Until it's not.

Shawneca Colvin was hunting for a used car and found a great deal on a selling app.

It was a Nissan Maxima a few hundred miles away for $1,500. The seller said she was in the military and was about to be deployed.

“She said she was going into training with her medical team for a year," Colvin said. "She said she didn’t want to store the car."

So she instructed Colvin to send a $500 deposit on eBay gift cards, which she promptly did.

But that is the last she heard from the seller: It was all a scam.

Heather Wolfe almost fell for a similar scam, this time it was for a Volkswagen convertible on the Facebook Marketplace.

“It looked like an amazing deal, $800 for a VW bug,” Wolfe said. “She was like my son just passed away from a bike accident, he was 26, and we just want to get rid of the car.”

But the woman wanted to send her a deposit with gift cards.

Luckily she declined, suspicious of being asked to pay that way.

Warning signs of a fake used car ad

In almost every case, the photos were stolen from a legit car dealer’s website, then the ad was reposted at a much lower price.

Sometimes they even post a link to the Carfax report, with the VIN.

To protect yourself, the Better Business Bureau says:

Never buy a car sight unseen. You want to make sure the seller has it.
Be suspicious of sad stories, like a son who just deployed in the military or a spouse who just died.
Never send a deposit via gift card, Zelle or Venmo. You cannot get your money back if it's a scam.

Remember that online scammers are good at gaining trust.
Never trust someone you met on the marketplace or elsewhere online, until you meet them in person. That way you don’t waste your money.

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