Selling a vehicle online? Be on the lookout for the Vehicle History Check Scam!
The Setup
The scam starts with a potential buyer, texting or emailing you about your used vehicle. They will be very interested in closing the sale, will probably not haggle, and offer to pay your price in cash. Sounds really good, right? But their only requirement is to get a vehicle history report, first.
And that’s a perfectly reasonable request. Except the scammers will be particular about asking you to use a specific VIN-checking website, one you’ve never heard of before. They will assure you that it’s quick and easy and only costs $40 or so. Some examples of these scam vehicle history websites include:
Please do NOT patronize the above websites. Consider them only as examples of what to avoid!
The Big Mistake
When someone is convinced to use such a site, the potential buyer disappears right after the report is paid for, and the seller is left hanging. The damage is done, but what exactly is the damage? If this happens to you, the possibilities are:
- You’ve wasted some time & hope while selling your car, and been taken for $40 (or more)
- Scammers now have your phone number and email, to share with other scammers
- Additional charges may later be applied to your card, in the hopes that you will miss them and not dispute them
- Criminals now know enough about you and your car to commit some real crime (identity theft) against you
Protect Yourself
It’s likely that you’ll have to provide a vehicle history report for a private used auto sale. So you have to make sure that you’re using a reputable one. Carfax is fine, but make sure to go to www.carfax.com and not some similar-looking impostor. AutoCheck by Experian is another legitimate report service. And if you need other safe title-checking resources, this government website will give you trustworthy alternatives.
And if a buyer pushes a particular website on you to use, just say No Thanks and move on.
