The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has warned that used vehicle sales scams are on the rise, with scammers now resorting to impersonating defence personnel.

Already $288,459 in losses has been reported in the first quarter of this year, more than all losses reported to Scamwatch for 2019.

“As second-hand car sales increased during the pandemic, unfortunately so did vehicle scams,” said Delia Rickard, ACCC Deputy Chair.

“If current trends continue, Australians could lose much more to vehicle scams this year than the $1 million lost in 2020.”

“We want to raise awareness of these scams to reduce the number of people who may be vulnerable to them.”

Vehicle scams typically involve scammers posting fake online listings offing high-demand vehicles with well-below market value prices. Scammers seek payment to secure the car for the buyer but never deliver the vehicle.

The ACCC has also suggested that a new scamming technique is being witnessed, where the scammer pretends to be defence personnel. In fact, 97 per cent of reports received this year state the scammer claimed to be military (navy, army, or air force) or to work with the Department of Defence, saying they wanted to sell their vehicle before deployment.

This approach seeks to create a sense of urgency with buyers and explain the unusually low listing price and why buyers cannot inspect the vehicle prior to payment.

Indications of a scam could include an email address that does not bear the legitimate defence email format of @defence.gov.au. However, even the correct email address does not guarantee the car ad isn’t a scam due to some scammers being able to “spoof” email addresses.

Some examples of fake Department of Defence emails that have been used in recent vehicle scams include @airforce-raaf.org, @royal-australian-defence-gov.com and @royal-australian-air-force-gov-au.com.

Scamwatch received 346 reports of vehicle scams to March 31, with $288,459 in reported losses. New South Wales has the highest number of reports (114) and losses ($97,297) to vehicle scams, while Northern Territory and Tasmania have not reported any to date.

“A price that is too good to be true should be a warning sign for potential buyers,” said Rickard.

“If a classified ad offers a vehicle at a very low price, the ad might not be legitimate.”

“If the seller claims to be unavailable and assists on payment before meeting the buyer or allowing them to pick up their new car, this should raise suspicions,” continued Rickard.

“It is relatively common for scammers to claim that they are travelling or moving away to avoid meeting buyers before payment.”

“Always try to inspect the vehicle before purchase and avoid unusual payment methods. If you have any doubts, do not go ahead with the deal.”

In addition to losing money to vehicle scams, the ACCC has also advised against providing personal details to someone the consumer has only met online. Around 20 per cent of consumers who reported vehicle scams have also lost personal information after providing their address, phone number and copies of their driver’s licence to the scammer.

Used vehicle purchasers should check whether their potential purchase is an actual vehicle, under finance or stolen via the federal government’s Personal Properties Securities Register (or its equivalent in each state).

Consumers can report scams on the ACCC’s Scamwatch website and any online losses to the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s Report Cyber website.

Scam victims are encouraged to contact their bank as soon as possible as well as advising the platform on which you were scammed to inform them of the situation.

Source: Scamwatch | Losses to car ad scams climbing 

29 April 2021