Multiple news articles have mentioned this before: it’s no secret that online scams have been affecting millions of Americans in the last couple of years.

Frustrated lawmakers and safety advocates can do little but simply attempt to minimize the growing trend by alerting consumers about the dangers of being involved in an online scam, especially if it’s an online auto auction scam.

According to several news agencies, scammers who engage in Auto-Auction Fraud have snatched millions from unaware consumers who are led to believe scammers’ offering vehicles, prices and conditions that are often too good to be true are reliable. Reports show that consumers are willing to send their money to these scammers without meeting the salesman in person.

Recent surveys show that over 4,066 complaints associated with auto-auction fraud were reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. These consumers lost over $8 million combined during the year of 2011. Scams were reported daily, reports received by the federal agency sometimes averaged two every hour.

The FBI and IC3 are combining efforts to help the National White Collar Crime Center to put an end to these scams by creating awareness associated with how scams work through educational campaigns that hope to make the public learn more about how they can protect themselves from being extorted by these fraudulent car salesmen.

Authorities revealed that some of these scammers claim to be Kelley Blue Book agents or someone who is in the process of moving out of town and hopes to get rid of their vehicles by selling it promptly. The scammers usually set up a persona that may make the consumer believe they are legitimate.

In most cases, the price of the vehicle is extremely low, which could be considered too good to be true. The moment a consumer shows interest in the offer, scammers ask for a deposit and lead the consumer to send the deposit to a third party for the inspection to start.

As soon as the money is in the scammer’s hands, the victim loses their money and the vehicle, which never existed to begin with.

Consumers are urged to be cautions while buying anything out of the Internet. Remember that if you’re dealing with a seller online and he or she pushes the completion of the deal by asking cash upfront before allowing the driver to inspect the product are not legitimate salesman.
Stay safe and avoid being involved in schemes associated with auto-fraud by contacting IC3 if you suspect of an Auto-Auction Fraud.

To learn more about this subject, read the full article by clicking here.