A fraudster posts a nonexistent vehicle for sale to a website, typically a luxury or sports car, advertised for well below its market value. The details of the vehicle, including photos and description, are typically lifted from sites such as craigslist, autotrader, cars.com or Autoscout24. An interested buyer, hopeful for a bargain, emails the fraudster, who responds saying the car is still available but is located overseas. Or, the scammer will say that he is out of the country but the car is with a shipping company. The scam artist then instructs the victim to send a deposit or full payment via wire transfer to initiate the "shipping" process. To make the transaction seem more legitimate, the fraudster will ask the buyer to send money to a fake agent of a third party that offers purchase protection. The unwitting victims wire the funds, and subsequently discover they have been scammed.In another type of fraud, a fraudster contacts someone who has posted a vehicle for sale online, asking for the vehicle identification number (VIN) in order to check the accident record of the vehicle. However, the crook actually uses the VIN to make fake documentation for a stolen car, in order to sell it.
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