Buyers, Vendors, secure your transactions!
Recently, the number of fraudulent online transactions of vehicle sales has increased considerably.
Below you’ll find the most typical cases of fraud, as well as several elementary rules that can protect you against them: both buyers and vendors should secure their transactions.
You buy a vehicle online: don’t pay before verification!
As a buyer, you should make sure that the vendor doesn’t fraud: don’t pay before you are sure of the vehicle and its delivery. You should also be able to recognize suspicious offers.
Beware of too attractive ads:
if the price is largely under the market price, it could be an attempted fraud.
Never make unsecured transactions or transactions in advance
Avoid suspicious transactions, such as significant advance payments for the reservation of a vehicle, or payments via Western Union.
Fraud via Western Union
We recommend you not to use money transfer for your online purchases. This is a safe, fast way of making payments to known parties. It is not adapted to making payments to unknown persons. Beware if a seller only accepts online transfers as payment method. The majority of serious sellers will accept more than one method of payment. Also, beware if a seller asks you to “safeguard” your purchase by making a payment in the name of a friend or parent, or if you are asked to set up a “question test”. These actions will not protect you from fraudulent sellers.
You sell a vehicle online: verify the buyer’s payment
As a seller, you should assure yourselves of the solvability of the buyer, before delivering the vehicle. You should also know how to avoid fraudsters’ traps.
Beware of uncertain payment methods
Prefer cash or transfer payments, more secure than checks. A check can be refused several weeks after it has been credited on your bank account, if it’s stolen, falsified or uncovered.
ATTENTION: You have to verify bank checks by calling the bank, because they can be falsified.
Our advice: Ask the buyer the name of his/her bank a few hours before the transaction in order to contact it and verify the solvability of its client. To avoid any problem, never arrange for a transaction with a private buyer over the weekend or on holidays.
Avoid the traps
If you receive a check (especially a foreign check) for an amount exceeding the sales price, you should consider the possibility of fraud. In no case should you pay back the difference, because there’s a strong chance the check will turn out to be either stolen or falsified, even if a preliminary check hasn’t revealed anything suspect.
Fraud example
A seller places an ad on our website, a buyer presents himself. They reach an agreement on the transaction (e.g. 17.000 Euro). The only problem is that the buyer is in Senegal and can only pay through Western Union, which will cost 1.000 Euro for the transaction. The buyer requests that the seller shares these extra costs by sending him 500 Euro.
A seller places an ad on our website, a buyer presents himself. They reach an agreement on the transaction (e.g. 17.000 Euro). The only problem is that the buyer is in Senegal and can only pay through Western Union, which will cost 1.000 Euro for the transaction. The buyer requests that the seller shares these extra costs by sending him 500 Euro.
Victim of a fraud : do not hesitate to press charges !
Report any Internet-related problems on the official website by clicking here
Stay vigilant and don’t hesitate to report us your doubts concerning ads or buyers by using the form below