Spot Car Scams on Craigslist

Craigslist can be a great resource to find new or used car deals in your local area. In some cases, if you are looking for a specific model of car, it can be tempting to purchase a car from another region of your country or from a different country entirely. When you are browsing cars for sale on Craigslist outside of your local area, you must learn how to recognize and spot the signs that indicate potential car scams.

Steps

  1. Look for unusually low car-pricing. Most car scams will advertise extremely low prices on cars so the posting can attract the attention of a large amount of people or seem like a great deal.
    • Consult with Kelley Blue Book or NADA Guides to familiarize yourself with car values and pricing of specific models and years of cars. To access one of these guides, you can contact a local car dealership or visit the website for each organization, both of which are featured in the Sources section of this article.
    • Practice extra caution if a high-end car model is being offered for an excessively low price.
  2. Closely examine photographs of the car to determine their authenticity. Many car scam postings will display pictures of cars that have been copied from another website.
    • Ask the Craigslist seller if they can send you additional photos of the car. If they can't provide additional photos, or if they make excuses regarding not having physical access to the car, it may be a scam.
    • Visit the links of photos that lead to image- or photo-hosting websites. Some websites will display the number of times the photo has been viewed. If the photo has been viewed excessively, the seller may be recycling the photo or trying to scam Craigslist users.
  3. Look for car listings that have been posted by a person in another country. Some Craigslist car scam postings will originate from another country so the seller cannot be prosecuted if they are caught.
    • If the posting originates from another country, the seller will most likely mention shipping methods for the car and will offer to take care of any associated shipping charges.
  4. Look for car postings that include the seller's personal story. Some car scams will provide explicit personal details about their situation or why the car is being sold for a low price; such as divorce, military deportment or relocation, or the death of a family member.
  5. Look for mentions of eBay services. Some sellers will take advantage of eBay's brand name since it is widely recognized; however, eBay does not associate with or protect any sales transactions performed on Craigslist.
    • If you have an account with eBay, check on eBay's website to see if the seller is legitimately selling a car. It may be possible that the seller is sincerely trying to sell the car and has posted the car on both eBay and Craigslist.
  6. Look for payment methods that require you to wire money. Sellers trying to scam you will usually request money wires through Western Union or a similar service that is untraceable.
    • Refrain from giving out your personal financial information; such as your bank account and routing numbers, PayPal information, and Social Security Number. The seller trying to scam you may use your personal information to commit fraud.

Tips

  • Buy cars that you have seen in person or test-driven. This practice may help you clarify whether or not you have become the victim of a scam.
  • Look for ads of people claiming to be getting deployed to active duty and that the car will be shipped to you, but your money is held in escrow until you receive the vehicle and you have a 5 day grace period.

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Sources and Citations

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