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  • Geebo 9:00 am on March 7, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: auction site, car auction, online auction, ,   

    Avoid online vehicle auction scams 

    Avoid auction scams

    By Greg Collier

    Before we get started with today’s topic, I wanted to bring you this article from the New York Times about the ongoing Zelle scams. The article is a good overview about the Zelle scams that we’ve discussed in the past. If you’d like to see stories about the Zelle scam that go into further detail, you can read are posts about it here.

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    When you think of online auction sites, you almost assuredly think about eBay. The platform has been an internet stalwart for over 25 years. While eBay has its own issues with scammers, today we’re going to discuss online auctions that are less than reputable. Many of these auctions are for various types of vehicles, from cars to boats to RVs. Others will offer high-priced or hard to get electronic items. However, many of these auctions are just after your money and your information.

    For example, you may see an ad on social media for an online car auctions that claims to be associated with a government agency. Very often, these phony auctions claim to represent a county sheriff’s office or possibly a state police barracks. Some will even claim to be run by a federal investigative agency. While some of these agencies do often hold seized car auctions, they don’t happen as often as the ad listings would have you believe.

    The scam will set out to rip you off in two ways. The first is, the scammers will ask you for a copy of your driver’s license as part of the registration process. The scammers may even claim they need your license to discourage false bids. The next part of the scam is to take your money. No matter what vehicle you bid on, you’ll receive a message that your bid won. More than likely, you’ll be asked to pay the auctioneer through the usual scammer means, like a cashier’s check or money transfer. Once the scammers get your money, they disappear, and now you’re out of hundreds or thousands of dollars and the car never even existed.

    The best way to avoid this scam is to do your research on the auction before giving your information or committing to any bids. If the auction claims to be a government auction, contact that agency to make sure the auction is legitimate. In other cases, research the auction’s history first. You can do a web search with the name of the auction company along with words like review, scam, or complaint. Lastly, if the auction wants bidders to pay in unusual means, like those mentioned above and others like cryptocurrency, walk away.

     
  • Geebo 9:00 am on December 21, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: auction site, , , ,   

    Couple loses $28K in RV scam 

    Couple loses $28K in RV scam

    By Greg Collier

    RVs are great if you really want to see parts of the country you’ve never been before. While flying is faster, when travelling in an RV, you get to see all of the places between you and your destination up close. While flying, you just see unidentifiable squares from a tiny window. Even though you’ll spend hours on the road, the RV makes it much more convenient than travelling by car. Everything you need is right there with you, and you don’t have to worry about looking for a clean bathroom to use, as one is always with you. These are just some of the reasons why retired couples often purchase an RV. However, RVs aren’t cheap. Some can be as expensive as a small home, and scammers know this.

    A retired couple from Wisconsin recently found this out when they thought they found their dream RV at a reasonable price. They were said to have been looking for an RV on Facebook Marketplace when they saw an ad for an auction site. When they went to the auction site, they found the RV they were looking for and the supposed bidding started at $23,000 which is well below market value for this model of RV. The couple bid $28,000 for the RV and received an email that their bid had won, so they wired the money to the auction site. While waiting to hear back from the auction site, the couple found the exact picture of the RV they thought they just bought on the website of an RV dealership in New York. The RV in the picture had been sold years ago. The couple tried to stop the wire transfer through their bank, but it was too late.

    The auction site turned out to be a fake. When local media investigated, they found that not only had the site been created in 2021, but they were also not at the address they listed. They even had scammed a woman in Maryland who thought she was working for a legitimate company, transferring cash to cryptocurrency.

    A lot of ads on social media are shady at best and a scam at worst. When making a major purchase like an RV, don’t let a good price lure you in to a trap. If you’re not familiar with the website or platform, do a web search for reviews and complaints. It’s also best to do a check with the Better Business Bureau. A reverse image search never hurts either. If you find the exact same picture being used on another website, the odds are you’re being scammed.

     
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