The four worst car scams

Don't get caught out by these sneaky car scams...

These days, scammers are everywhere. So it’s no surprise that if you own a car, or you’re planning to buy or sell one, you need to keep your wits about you.

Here, I’m going to run through some of the worst car scams to watch out for:

1. Virtual vehicle scam

The virtual vehicle scam is one to look out for if you’re hoping to buy a car. It involves fake shipping websites that promise to handle and look after your money.

Let’s say you spot a car being advertised for sale on a website such as Auto Trader or eBay. The car looks great so you decide to buy it – after all, the advert looks legitimate and you can’t see anything wrong with it.

The car is located abroad, so as soon as you state you’re interested in buying the car, you’re directed to a different website that supposedly belongs to a shipping company. This company will handle the transfer of money, as well as shipping costs.

You’re told that the shipping firm will transfer your money to the seller once you’ve received the car and confirmed you’re happy with it.

However, while this might all seem acceptable, in reality, you’ll have been directed to a fake website and once you’ve transferred your money to the shipping company, you’re unlikely to ever receive the car and you’ll never see your money again either.

How to avoid: Never hand over money to someone you don’t know for a vehicle you’ve not seen. If you’re buying a car, always get a vehicle history check – the AA offers one for £20.50.

And remember, if the price of the car sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

2. Vehicle matching scam

On the other hand, if you’re selling a car, watch out for vehicle matching scams.

Let’s say you’ve advertised your car in a newspaper. You then receive a phone call and the caller tells you he/she has one or more buyers lined up who are looking to buy the same make/model of car.

All you have to do is pay a matcher’s fee upfront (usually up to £100) before you can meet the buyer(s) and a sale can go ahead.

3. Driving licence scam

Watch out for emails that appear to be from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) asking you to update and verify your driving licence details due to a database upgrade. If you receive an email like this, you’ll be asked to complete your licence verification by clicking on a link in the email and filling out your details.

There will be a sense of urgency to the email and you’ll be told that if you don’t update your details within two weeks of receiving the email, you’ll lose your licence and be asked to take another driving test.

However, in reality the email is not from the DVLA and instead has been designed by scammers to steal your personal details and your identity.

How to avoid: If you receive an email like this, don’t click on any links and make sure you delete the email immediately.

You should be able to tell that it’s a fake email due to the bad spelling and grammar that is likely to run throughout the email, as well as clunky-sounding English.

An example of one such email I have seen goes along the lines of:

‘We are currrently upgrading our database and all drivers are required to update and verify there driver’s license details. To complete your license verification with us, you are required to fill out the form in the link below.

[link]

Drivers that refuses to upgrade his or her details within two weeks or receiving this verification email will lose his or her driver’s License and will have to take a fresh driving test. We sincerely apologise for any inconviniences this might have caused you. Thank you for your co-operation.'

4. Staged car accident scam

This scam is all to do with insurance. Fraudsters deliberately stage a car accident in a bid to make a claim on your car insurance.

There are several different methods for this, but one of the most common ones is when the car in front of you brakes sharply, causing you to go into the back of it.

Another popular method is when you’re attempting to merge into traffic and a driver signals to let you in. However, the driver then crashes into your car and later denies that he ever signalled that you could move forward.

Alternatively, as you move around a corner at a busy intersection with several lanes, you move slightly into the lane next to you. The driver in that lane takes the opportunity to accelerate and sideswipes you.

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Once an accident like this has taken place, the fraudster will make a claim on your car insurance because supposedly you’re to blame.

Although you're not actually at fault, this claim will result in higher insurance premiums for you in the future, meaning you’ll be forking out more money. And in the meantime, the fraudster will have received a nice payout.

Often the fraudster will also exaggerate the number of people who were in the car with them, as well as the number (and seriousness) of injuries they’ve received.

How to avoid: If you are in an accident, count how many people were in the other car and get their names and phone numbers. It’s also worth noting down the car number plate and taking photos of both cars and any damage. If there’s been a possible injury, call the police.

If you suspect you might be a victim of a scam, inform your insurer and leave it to your insurance company to investigate.

Finally, if you think you’ve been a victim of any type of car scam, you can call Consumer Direct for advice on 08454 04 05 06.

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