INDIANA — Many online platforms list cars, trucks, vans and RVs for very low prices, with sellers offering to make third-party delivery arrangements if the buyer pays via escrow. In reality, neither the automobile nor the escrow company exists — leaving the buyer without their money or their vehicle.
An in-depth investigative study by Better Business Bureau (BBB) finds that thousands of consumers have fallen victim to this scam, with losses totaling millions of dollars. The study points to a heightened risk from this scam as demand increases for online vehicle purchases.
According to the study, Web sites such as Craigslist are rife with advertisements for low-price vehicles, with seemingly eager sellers often claiming that the reduced price is because of an upcoming military deployment overseas, a divorce, or the death of a family member to whom the vehicle belonged. Victims are directed to pay a supposedly independent third party, typically by wire transfer, to hold money in escrow and ship the vehicle. However, no vehicle is ever delivered.
Scammers sometimes claim that the transaction is protected by the eBay vehicle protection program. In other cases, they invent bogus Web sites connected to shipping escrow companies with addresses in towns across the U.S., particularly the Midwest. Those sometimes use the names and addresses of real businesses or car dealerships.
Major investigations and prosecutions in New York, Kentucky and Europe have connected this fraud to Romanian nationals and others living in the U.S., Romania and elsewhere in Europe.
File a complaint with your local BBB if you lost money or report a scam online to BBB Scam Tracker.