Car Buying and Selling Scams

As car security and ignition systems become more and more sophisticated, thieves are finding increasingly resourceful means of stealing vehicles from unwary sellers and ingenious ways of selling them on to unsuspecting buyers.

However, avoiding these scams is usually fairly simple once you know about the different ways you may be targeted. To help you out, we've put together a guide to some of the most commonly used tricks and reveal how best to avoid them.

Car Jacking: How to avoid having your car stolen by a fraudulent buyer.
Clocking: Don't get caught out by a dodgy odometer reading.
Cut & Shuts: One of the more dangerous car selling scams to be aware of.
The Export Scam: An email con that could lose you thousands of pounds.
False Escrow Services: A look at the fake services that may mean that you end up without your new car AND the money you paid for it.
Forged Bankers Drafts: Always check that any bankers draft has been 'given value', rather than being 'cleared'.
Fraudulent Buyers: A look at those buyers who are more interested in burgling your house or stealing your car.
Ringing: Find out about the crooks who sell stolen cars using the details of legitimate cars - and how they can leave you out of pocket.
Text Message Scam: This SMS swindle is simply a ruse to get you to run up bills on a premium-rate line.