The Official Start of the Fall Car Buying Season is Approaching
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Issues Alert to Help Shoppers Avoid Scams
As millions of students head back to high school and college, many parents will be tasked with helping their kids find suitable transportation – that is, finding a new or used car. And many of those parents and students will turn to the Internet because they know buying a car online provides unmatched convenience, greater selection and fantastic value.
To help auto customers shop safely and confidently online, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recently issued a Public Service Announcement urging consumers to watch out for fraudulent vehicle sales claims and instead use only trusted sites like eBay Motors. These scams hijack trustworthy brands and vehicle protection programs like those offered by eBay Motors. According to the IC3, consumer complaints increased 25 percent in 2010, costing auto shoppers roughly $1,000 every hour.
The scam goes something like this – criminals create an attractive ad for a vehicle they don’t own on an online site that does not offer the consumer protections that reputable on-line auto companies do, often offering it for sale well below market value. They claim to offer a vehicle protection program from a reputable company like eBay Motors to gain the trust of the consumer, and then try to get the buyer to send money without ever physically seeing or inspecting the non-existent vehicle. Only cars bought and sold on eBayMotors.com can legitimately offer up to $50,000 in vehicle protection. Oftentimes, the fraudulent seller will try to rush the buyer into a quick sale by saying they’re in the military and getting deployed and need to sell in a hurry. The buyer then sends money via Western Union or MoneyGram and the “fake” seller is gone with the wind!
Jack Christin, Esq, a member of eBay’s Trust & Safety Team, says these criminals are hijacking the names of reputable companies and programs like eBay Motors and taking unsuspecting consumers for a financially devastating ride. As a former Assistant Attorney General in Massachusetts who handled Internet enforcement cases and policy issues, Jack knows all about online consumer scams and how to avoid them.
Jack offer consumers tips on how to avoid online scams and shop safely and with confidence.
