Buying and Selling Online – Tips to Avoid Scams

On the whole, buying and selling a car online is an easy and safe process.  But you should always beware of scammers who try to use the anonymous environment of the internet to rip people off.

Buyers, sellers – and even leasers or renters – have lost thousands of dollars to scammers on real estate, rental, fake banking and car websites. In nearly all cases, these scams can be avoided if the buyers and sellers are more cautious.

Case study: car seller target
One example of a common scam targeted at vehicle sellers is a buyer who offers to purchase (without inspecting) the vehicle and will send a cheque in excess of the asking price. The buyer will then request a refund for the difference in price between the payment made and the asking price. The seller is scammed after they have sent the refund to the buyer and the original payment turns out to be false.

Case study: car buyers target
A vehicle will be offered far below the ordinary selling price. When contacted, the seller will advise that either the seller or the vehicle is located overseas and will ask for an up-front deposit without allowing the buyer to view the car and its condition or research its history.

Current known scams
We are currently aware of a current scam whereby the seller of a vehicle claims to be overseas  due to either a recent divorce or for work commitments. The seller asks for payment to be done via a Western Union transfer. The seller also advises that they will arrange delivery of the vehilce by Ebay Cars. This is a known scam.

Please note:  be cautious in dealing with car sellers that are overseas and always arrange to view the vehicle prior to the transfer of any money. 

If the offer looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Verify that the person on the other end is genuine. Check all the contact details.
If the number in the ad is disconnected, be wary.  If the buyer/seller says it is disconnected because they are overseas, ask for a landline phone number at their current location, as well as a mobile phone number. 
If they give you a street address, check on Google Street View what is actually at that address.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s website offers the following tips to avoid being stung:

• Use your common sense: the offer may be a scam.
• ALWAYS get independent advice if an offer involves significant money, time or commitment.
• Do not agree to offers or deals straight away: tell the person that you are not interested or that you want to get some independent advice before making a decision.
• You can contact your local office of fair trading, ASIC or the ACCC for assistance.
• NEVER send money, or give credit card or online account details to anyone you do not know and trust.

 In addition, here are some specific things to look out for when buying or selling a car online:

• Know the market value of the car. Use Carsguide.com.au’s car values tool to check if a car is being offered for sale at market value.
• Do as many checks as you can to ensure the offer is legitimate, in particular view the car in person and check registration papers and service logs.
• Read all the terms and conditions of any offer very carefully: claims of free or very cheap offers often have hidden costs.
• Speak to the seller by telephone rather than just email and if the phone number is provided is not contented treat this with suspicion.
• Don’t make any payments until you are satisfied that the offer is genuine.
• When accepting an offer, insist on the buyer paying the correct amount.

For more information on vehicle fraud visit:

• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
• Scam watch

Should you find any reason to be suspicious of an advertised vehicle, or you are suspicious that an offer is not genuine please contact us.

Please Note: Carsguide.com.au does not accept money transfers or handle deposits on behalf of private buyers or sellers. For more information, please refer to our conditions of use.