Used Car Scams Flourish in the Spring

Spring is peak car buying season, and as a result, the National Consumer League Fraud Center is seeing an increase in complaints about used car scams. If you’re enticed by ads for deeply discounted cars, you could easily fall for one of these scams. The shady sellers operate long-distance, so when you inquire about a well-priced car you’ve found on an auction site, craigslist, eBay or another online classified listing, you’re informed that the vehicle has to be shipped. Payments are demanded in the form of wire transfers, which is the biggest red flag of all. Don’t ever wire money to someone you don’t know.

Other tip-offs that you’re dealing with a scam artist: the seller is located overseas but has an American middleman, the seller requests speedy payment, the seller’s emails and ads contain lots of grammatical errors, and the car is priced well below Kelley Blue Book value. If you’ve been a victim already, file a complaint at www.fraud.org.