If you have never been a victim of fraud, you’re lucky!
A Gartner research study found that around 7.5% of Americans lost money in fraudulent financial fraud in 2008, many of them through online fraud. Between phishing attacks (attract users to fake websites), fake chat room sessions, and spyware, online consumers are vulnerable – as well as online traders and service providers.
Das Auto Shippers, a national automatic transportation company, has identified used car fraud run by fraudsters using sales sites and online auctions to advertise used cars, trucks and SUVs at a sharp discount price. Buyers think they get a lot of things: “Wow! Lexus used Houston TX Car Shippers SUV worth more than $ 12K for only $ 4800? What agreement!” And it will be very much – if the seller really has a vehicle for sale.
Here’s the way the scam works.
Buy and we will send it
First, Scammer includes a car on eBay, Craigslist, Yahoo motor or other sales / auction sites. He provides what seems to be all the information that can be wanted by car buyers: Vin, photos, travel distance information, etc. Scammer has this information because he copies it from the previous and legitimate online list for vehicles. Maybe a car sold six months to a year before.
Even with all that information, most buyers are careful. They contacted the “seller” and asked to see the vehicle itself or asked someone to check it out.
Of course, people who do fraud do not have a vehicle to be displayed, so he tells the buyer that a reliable car sender (watershed) or other automatic sender who already has a vehicle for shipping. But, fraudsters added, the buyer should not worry because the vehicle was covered by a watershed vehicle protection program (or another company). If the buyer doesn’t like the vehicle when it comes, he gets the money returned.
After the buyer agrees to the agreement, the fraud seller explains that someone from the “Vehicle Protection Program” will contact them to arrange payment. Fake email, which contains payment information and tracking number, directs the buyer to the Bogus website that looks valid. Scammers often make a complete copy of other company websites and accommodate them on different domain names.
Often, the buyer does not realize he has been triggered until he contacts an automatic transportation company to ask about the delivery date or request additional information. This fraud scheme is widespread. For example, the Auto Shippers watershed reports receiving three or more calls every week from all countries. About 1/3 of the person who called had paid.
Stop scammers is not easy
Fraud is very difficult to prosecute. The perpetrators are smart enough to maintain vehicle costs below $ 5,000 because the FBI does not investigate and demand the number of fraud schemes. Local law enforcement cannot do anything because fraudsters are usually located in Eastern Europe or Asia.
Often, the shipping company automatically asks for candidate buyers to play along with fraud until fraud sellers send emails with payment information. Use email information, they go to work browse the IP address and track hosting companies to close the Bogus website.
The good news is that everyone works together to combat the scheme of fraud like this. Unfortunately, scammers continue to move sites and deceive consumers.
