Selling used cars can be difficult, especially because of the rising number of scam artists trying to make car owners who are selling their vehicles independently fall for their online schemes.
Most car owners are not aware of the different ways used car sale scams work and because of that, several specialists decided to expose the issue and teach potential victims to be aware of the dangers they could be facing if they fail to notice the scam right away.
One of the most common scam is the certified check scam. A potential buyer contacts a used car owner and shows interest in the vehicle. As soon as the car owner responds, the scam artist replies back by saying that he or she will pay for the car with a cashier’s check. When the used car owner responds positively, the potential buyer comes up with some excuse and asks the car owner to wire him the difference of a check that he had to write for more than what the car is worth.
Most of the times, victims of this scam only realize that the whole deal was not genuine after the money has been wired to the scam artist. Experts urge used car owners to be aware of this issue and to never wire any money before a check has been cleared. Also, experts encourage you to never transfer your car into the potential buyer’s name until you have been paid.
Another popular scam is known as bogus escrow services. According to the news, a genuine escrow service will collect the payment and hold the amount until all parties are happy with the purchase but the problem is that phony escrow services have been operating all over the Internet. Consumers should make sure they research the escrow service company they are dealing with while attempting to sell or buy a vehicle online. Most bogus escrow services are found in auction websites.
To avoid being misled and having your money stolen from you, keep it in mind that you should never transfer any titles or ownerships until you have the amount you asked for your vehicle in your hands. Taking personal checks should be avoided and make it clear that you will only transfer the ownership of your used car if the buyer offers you cash. Following these simple tips can help you to safely sell your vehicle.
For more tips on how to safely sell your vehicle, click here for the full article.