Just last week a member of the Oratory Commerce team was trying to sell her car. Very quickly there was an email response stating that not only was this potential buyer interested, but they definitely wanted to buy the car ASAP and were willing to pay upfront before even viewing the vehicle and were so adamant they wanted it that they would not only match the asking price but actually pay more! Great! Or maybe – too good to be true?
Unfortunately, car sales sites are riddled with this kind of scam. But don’t worry, the scam is easily detectable. Firstly, you are likely to receive several emails all very similar. Here is how the scam rolls out:
• The email address will originate from webmail accounts, such as Yahoo, Hotmail or Gmail and be poorly written, or look as though they’re being sent in bulk with the seller’s car details crudely pasted in
• The scam artist will encourage sellers to use money transfer services such as Western Union
The scenarios vary, but usually take the following shape of events:
• The “buyer” arranges for a cheque to be sent from a third party to the seller for the asking price of the car – plus extra to cover the cost of shipping abroad
• The seller pays the cheque into their bank and is pressured by the fraudster into sending the “shipping fee” abroad immediately via a legitimate electronic money transfer company
• A few days later, the seller will be informed by the bank that the cheque was a fake
• The seller hears no more from the scam artist and has no way of getting the shipping fee back
So, beware – if you’re selling a car, be prepared to barter! A genuine buyer will be after a bargain.
