False Claims

The Internet Crime Complaint Center reports that people buying cars online are being tricked by fraudulent vehicle sales and false claims of vehicle protection programs.

In the scam, con artists sell vehicles they don’t own, often by offering them for less than book value, claiming they must sell them quickly because they must relocate for work or are being deployed by the military. They often falsely claim that the vehicles are protected by a legitimate vehicle protection plan, such as the eBay Motors Vehicle Protection Plan. But the eBay plan does not cover vehicles sold through sites other than eBay.

To further gain a prospective buyer’s confidence the scammers sometimes use a live-chat feature, posing as on-line sales people who assure the buyer that the transaction is safe.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center is a partnership of the FBI, the National White Collar Crime Center, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance.