The contract of sale of a car is a fraud. Typical schemes of fraud in the sale of cars and how to deal with them

How not to become a victim of scammers if you decide to sell a car on an ad site?

Selling a car by ad is the most common way in our country. For all its seeming simplicity and transparency, it is quite dangerous: in 2016, thousands of cases of fraud occurred when selling cars from hand.

For scammers, the fact that you are selling an expensive item (be it a Macbook or an old car) means that you definitely have money. Which means they can be stolen.

We tell you what schemes scammers use to sell cars.

1. Fake call from the bank

The buyer calls you, says that he is ready to buy a car and asks you to take a picture of your card and passport in order to transfer money to you.

You send him a photo.

Then the fun begins: an “employee” allegedly calls from your bank to confirm your identity for an incoming transfer. The amount is large, and the bank's concern may not arouse suspicion. The employee starts asking standard questions like: name the secret code of your card or a code word.

When the auto scammers get all the information they need, they tell you that the transfer is approved and the money will come soon. And then they call the bank on your behalf (they have all the secret information and your passport data) and withdraw all the funds from the account.

How to avoid?

The fact that they call you from a “beautiful” number does not mean that the bank is really calling you. Sometimes scammers even manage to make a call so that the real bank number is displayed on your screen.

Poor call quality is a sure sign that a scammer is calling you.

Do not provide any sensitive card details over the phone.

It is better to call the bank yourself at the official number and find out if you really have any questions.

2. You are asked to give the code from the SMS

A buyer calls you - the head of some company, who says that he is ready to immediately take the car. He even promises to send you part of the money as collateral. You agree, and he passes the phone to his "accountant".

A pleasant female voice asks you to name the card number. When you call it, scammers try to enter the online bank using your data. The bank sends you a code to enter. The scammers say that they sent the code and ask for the numbers. You call the code, scammers enter the online bank and withdraw money.

There is another option: scammers will ask for your CVV (three digits on the back of the card) in order to transfer money. If you hear this, know that this is a scam. CVV is not required for money transfer.

How to avoid?

To transfer money to your card, you only need your card number. If you are asked to provide any other information, most likely they are trying to deceive you.

3. Bullying on the ad site

A car scammer makes an appointment to assess the condition of the car. After the meeting, he says what he thinks.

Fraudsters publish ads with the same cars as yours, but cheaper, complain about your ad, write that you have a fake TCP. They are trying in every possible way to lower the rating of your ad so that you can’t stand it, lower the cost in order to sell the car for at least some money. Thus, they force you to sell the car for less than it's actually worth.

How to avoid?

Post your ad on multiple sites.

Contact the site's support team when you see something similar happening with your ad. The sites are also interested in placing only high-quality ads.

4. Receipt with incorrect data

At first, everything goes well: you make an appointment with a buyer who likes the car so that he can check its condition. He likes everything, and on the spot he offers you to draw up a contract of sale and a receipt. Money promises to transfer in the near future.

You immediately make a deal and transfer the keys to the new owner. But time passes, no money appears on the account, and the buyer cannot be reached by phone, because the data in the receipt is incorrect. As a result, you have no money, no car.

How to avoid?

Do not sign an acknowledgment that you have received the money until you actually receive it.

Ask the buyer to show the passport and check with the passport data in the documents.

Make a transaction directly at the bank so that the new owner can transfer money to your account in front of you.

Conclusion

Save time and effort - to sell a car, contact well-known large companies that value their reputation and will monitor the security of the transaction.

Check the documents, carefully read the contracts and check the data that the buyer provides you with about himself.

Do not give in to offers to give the car for a commission, give money in installments or give money later. The safest scheme is the full amount for the car right now against receipt.

Do not sign documents confirming that the transaction took place until you receive the money.

Remember, your card number is enough for the buyer to transfer money to you.

Car buying and selling scams are all over the place, and it's easy to fall into the trap. All due to the fact that the used vehicle market provides maneuvers for scammers who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of ordinary buyers and sellers. So what are the most common car sales and purchase fraud schemes used by scammers and what is their essence? What should you pay attention to when making a deal and how not to become a victim of scammers? What should be done if the car owner has become a victim of scams? We will try to answer these questions in this article.

Common car buying scams

Obviously, the comparative risks of sellers and buyers of vehicles are not the same. So, the latter are deceived much more often, but at the same time, the damage caused to sellers is many times greater, since most often the object of illegal actions is either a large amount or the car itself. So, to begin with, we will consider the types of fraud aimed at deceiving buyers. Each of the following methods is equally common:

• Sale of a car purchased on credit. The seller does not mention that the car was bought for credit funds, and credit legal relations are still in force. On the contrary, they will lure you with all available means - relatively low cost, low mileage, etc. Then, when making a deal, they will provide a duplicate of the TCP, claiming that the original has been lost. At the same time, getting a duplicate in the traffic police is as easy as shelling pears, for this you only need to write an application and pay a fee. After the transaction is completed and the money is transferred, the borrower will stop paying monthly payments on the car loan, and the bank puts the car on the wanted list and that's it, the new owner is left without money and without a vehicle;
• Sale of cars with advance payment. It often happens that the seller and the buyer agree on the transaction and the seller asks for a deposit as a guarantor of a future purchase. But unscrupulous sellers, having taken possession of the advance, disappear from view. At the same time, it is practiced to leave a deposit without issuing a document confirming its payment. Further, the buyer is left with nothing, and the seller continues to practice such a sale. Some scammers manage to get an advance on non-existent cars at all. According to the scammers, the car is located outside the Russian Federation and funds are required for its transportation, customs clearance, etc. To lull vigilance, the buyer is presented with a contract with all the attributes (signatures, seals) of the company that provides the relevant services, and after receiving the prepayment, the seller dissolves;
• Sale of an illiquid car under the guise of a car in excellent condition. This is a classic among scammers. In fact, the “killed” car undergoes serious pre-sale preparation, the appearance is brought by the craftsmen to a state close to ideal and an excessively high price is set, and in fact the car is rotten from the inside or was seriously damaged, or completely restored after an accident;
• Sale of cars by dealers and car dealerships on credit. Here the fantasy of sellers and creditors has gone far. Car dealerships and dealers practice attracting customers with promotions and discounts, which, after the transaction is completed, are often accompanied by excessive spending. Promotional cars, as a rule, are sold in the basic configuration, and employees persistently impose additional options, etc. Loan agreements contain additional commissions in addition to the interest charged on the amount of the debt.

The above schemes are the most common in the automotive industry, and despite the fact that they are known to a large circle of motorists, they still work. In most cases, this is the merit of the scammers themselves, who skillfully gain confidence and win over a potential buyer who cannot even imagine that he will be deceived. Therefore, when making purchase and sale transactions, when it is not possible to objectively verify the decency of the seller, you should pay attention to:

• Authenticity of car documents. A duplicate requires a small check, first of all, for the presence of encumbrances (pledge to the bank). The traffic police website makes it possible to find out for free about encumbrances and other information, and in the case of purchasing a vehicle bought on credit, you need to ask for a certificate from the bank stating that the debt has been repaid;
• Requests for an advance for a car. You should not transfer money as payment or prepayment without receiving supporting documents (check, receipts). The receipt must contain both the amount of the transferred amount and the currency, as well as information about the recipient of the money;
• Doubts about the condition of the car, which involve contacting the service station. A trip to the station is recommended to all buyers who do not have sufficient knowledge in the car;
• provisions of the contract. When buying in a showroom for promotions or on credit, you need to read the contract, where the conditions for selling a car for a promotion or on credit may be hidden, significantly increasing the cost of the purchase. An invited lawyer can evaluate the contract.

Selling or buying a vehicle is always a risk, since we are talking about a valuable property and a rather large amount of money. Any person, even legally savvy in this area, can fall into the trick of scammers. Therefore, before making a deal, it is always better to play it safe, pay more attention to studying all the nuances than to defend your rights in the courts later.

What types of fraud occur when selling a car?

Sellers are less likely than buyers to suffer from scammers, but it happens. At the same time, fraud schemes are much more sophisticated, since the seller initially does not have the most advantageous position - he is more open in information, his data is in the car sale announcement or he presents them to a potential buyer without thinking about the consequences. According to statistics, it is car dealers who most often become victims of physical violence when trying to get money for their car. So, most often fraudulent schemes look like this:

• Emptying the seller's bank account. The pseudo-buyer agrees to the purchase without bargaining, asks to book a car and not put it up for further sale, and at the same time is ready to transfer an advance to the seller's account right now. The inspired seller gladly gives the card details (number, expiration date, and a three-digit number on the back - CVV code) and waits for the first part of the payment to arrive. But here nothing happens and the excited seller asks the buyer what the difficulties are, to which he replies that the bank demanded additional confirmation on the account to complete the operation. Confirmation is carried out via mobile communications, an SMS with a code is sent to the seller's number, which must be reported to the buyer at the bank, and after the attacker takes possession of the code, all funds disappear from the account.
• Forgery of information in Internet banking. This is a scam, usually luxury, expensive cars and wealthy sellers. Using computer technology, false information is entered into banking about the receipt of money on account of payment, although in fact this is not the case.
• Bearer's check. When buying, an attacker makes a settlement by issuing a check with the required amount, but the account from which such an amount should be debited either does not exist, or by the time the seller appears in the bank, it is empty.
• Case with a secret. This is where scammers need sleight of hand. There are two compartments in a special case, one is the main one, presented for viewing to the seller with real money, the other is hidden, where fakes are located. After the money is recounted by the seller, the parties go to complete the transaction, but between the recount and the transfer of the case, the cash disappears, and only fakes remain.
• Sale through a car dealership or autohouse. The seller transfers his used car, they put it up at their own price, but not lower than the one declared by the seller and it can stand indefinitely until the seller’s patience runs out and he wants to return the car back, because there were no buyers. But the contract, as a rule, provides for a clause that the return of the car involves the payment of a commission, the amount of which will be equal to 1/4 of the cost of the car, which was established by the intermediary.

The sophisticated mind of scammers generates ideas of enrichment at an incredible speed. In addition to the above methods, the seller can be fooled right during the test drive. For example, steal a second car key, so that later you can just steal the transport you like. Therefore, you should not come alone to meetings with potential buyers, this can be fraught. In addition, for the security of the transaction, sellers should:

• Carry out all actions when selling a car with a client during daylight hours (show cars, draw up a contract, etc.) in relatively crowded places;
• Do not remove the car from the register ahead of schedule at the request of the buyer;
• Discuss the route of checking the car on the road in advance and take someone with you;
• Check money for authenticity when received as payment, so that the money is no longer out of sight or even in the seller. When signing the contract, the funds should be checked again, including recalculating;
• Do not hesitate and put the proceeds in the bank, and do not carry around the city.

If the seller finds himself in one of the situations described above, then he should contact law enforcement agencies with an appropriate application and provide all documents and other evidence of the transaction (for example, counterfeit money). Most likely, a criminal case will be initiated under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and if the scammers are caught, they will face a large fine, imprisonment or other type of punishment provided for such a crime.

Conclusion

When making transactions for the sale of a car, you should be vigilant and make sure that the other party is honest before signing any documents, giving or transferring money, etc. If possible, it is better to involve a competent person in the procedure, for example, a lawyer. If this is not possible, then it is better to refuse a dubious transaction than to take risks, since you can be left with nothing.

Deception and fraud in car dealerships is rampant. Often, motorists who purchase vehicles do not even realize that they have been deceived. Specialists resort to many ways to mislead the client.

We will find out what to do in case of fraud, what to do, which authorities to contact, and tell you how things can progress in practice.

What to do if you were deceived at a car dealership, how to prove the guilt of a fraudulent car dealership - the first actions of a deceived car buyer

A Russian who is faced with fraud in a car dealership must act immediately.

The first steps should be:

1. Call a police officer

In the event that you are psychologically influenced, pressured, forced to sign documentation - feel free to call the police.

Call the emergency department and report the fact of the crime. The police officer must come on call, understand the situation and record all the circumstances in the documents.

You can use your mobile phone to video or audio recordings to confirm the fact of the crime. Evidence can then be attached to the documents in the court.

You can also fix witness statements.

It is better to call a police officer at the scene - that is, in the cabin.

Of course, if you are threatened, then it is better to leave the office of the company, not to be there - and not to contact the employees, and then contact the police.

2. Write an application to a banking organization to cancel a loan order

In the event that you made out the purchase of a car on credit, then is it possible to get a refund.

Write an application with a request to cancel the order to transfer funds to the account of the car dealership company.

A banking organization could not fulfill it, and not transfer money to the account of a legal entity.

If you write a statement - the order will be canceled.

Under the loan agreement, funds are credited to the name of the client, that is, to your account. In the future, they are transferred to the account of the seller, that is, the company where you purchase the car.

But, note that this is not a mandatory requirement under which a loan / credit is provided to an individual, even if a targeted loan has been issued.

You can manage the money that has been credited to your account and fulfill your obligations under the agreement with the car dealership.

Important: You can cancel the transfer at any time, before the execution of the order.

If you cancel the loan order, without transferring money, you can easily terminate the contract with the car dealership.

Where to go if you were deceived in a car dealership - a step-by-step instruction for defending your rights and money

Follow these instructions to defend your rights - and return the money spent:

Stage 1. Collection of documentation

Prepare all documents related to the transaction.

It could be:

1. Contract with car dealership.
2. Agreement with a banking organization.
3. Receipt for money transfer.
4. Application for termination of the loan agreement with the company.
5. Firm responses.
6. Complaints sent to government agencies, etc.

There may be other papers - it all depends on what you signed.

Stage 2. Contacting a lawyer

Of course, it is not necessary to consult a lawyer. But, if you have such an opportunity, it is better to ask for advice - how to act - from a specialist.

At the end of the document, list all the papers that you are filing with the lawsuit for consideration in court.

Did our article help you? Share on social networks!

The ability to make easy money, even through cheating, is one of the dangers for used car buyers. Moreover, the methods can be very different: from hiding information that affects the price, to criminal forgery of counterfeit banknotes. Here are the most common options for fraud, although the fantasy of deceivers is not limited to these points.

1. Understatement (twisting) of real mileage

The real mileage of the car can be set using computer diagnostics. But before spending money, you can simply evaluate the "fatigue" of the car. A very shabby interior, extra noise during engine operation and while driving, and other signs speak of it. Auxiliary information may be the data of the service book and other documents on car maintenance.

2. Overestimation of the real year of manufacture of the car and a decrease in the period of stay in Russia

For cars made in Russia, this can be done by obtaining a duplicate of the vehicle passport (PTS), respectively, the word "duplicate" on the form issued by the local traffic police department should alert the buyer. Imported cars can be checked using CarFax, Autocheck and other systems if you know the VIN number of the car. Another way is to simply find out when a particular model was produced by the manufacturer.

3. Underestimation of the real number of car owners

This is not the most malicious violation, but clearly something is hiding. Before proceeding to the calculation stage, it is better to check the TCP. All owners should be listed there, and the fewer of them, the better. Ideally, before the current owner, the document should indicate the customs department through which the car was imported, or the manufacturer, for cars assembled in Russia.

4. Inconsistency between the photos of the car and reality

In order to be sure that you are inspecting the car that was discussed in the ad, print it out. In case of obvious differences, it is better to discard this option.

5. Communication not with the owner of the car, but with his "representatives"

In this situation, there may be several options for the development of events. The real owner could really ask someone to show the car, and then everyone should calmly react to your desire to communicate only with the real owner. The worst option: everything was as it was intended. In case of refusal to inspect the representatives of the owner, and these are usually several men of strong physique, may begin to demand compensation for the costs of coming to demonstrate from a potential buyer. The main thing is not to join their game and not succumb to persuasion to look at a car or almost the same one in a neighboring garage, immediately cancel the inspection altogether or reschedule for a time when the real owner can be present.

6. The actual equipment (engine size, gearbox, options) does not correspond to the declared

Before the inspection, ask how the engine of the declared volume should look like and what configurations existed at the time the car was released. On Internet forums, there are usually a lot of descriptions of how models of different years of manufacture differ and what should correspond to them.

7. The owner, after inspection and diagnosis, asks to leave his car for half a day to unload personal belongings, transport his family, or something similar.

Usually half a day turns into a whole day, and the transaction takes place a day after the inspection and diagnosis. During this time, everything in the car can be changed: from the wheels to the engine. Be careful about such a breakup for a short time. Take a picture of the car immediately after the first inspection and compare with what will happen next time.

8. Sale of restored cars after accidents under the guise of new ones

An external examination of the joints of parts, body painting in the engine compartment and in the trunk, left and right, the tightness of the rubber parts, welding points can tell about interference with the body structure. For expensive cars, you can conduct a professional examination.

9. Sale of mortgage cars

If the car was bought on credit from a decent bank or registered as a pledge of movable property with a notary, then this can be checked at a credit bureau or in a notary registry. If the car is pledged to a pawnshop, then this is not recorded anywhere and the information cannot be verified in any way. You can protect yourself by prescribing a real amount in the contract and including the phrase: “the car is not sold, not pledged, does not participate in property disputes and permission to sell it was given by the spouse (s).”

10. Sale (registration) of a car without its participation of the owner

The conclusion of such a transaction may be canceled and the car returned to the current owner. Therefore, you need to buy a car only from the real owner or his representative, who has a notarized power of attorney in his hands (it would also be good to check its action with the indicated notary). The owner must be listed in the TCP in the last owner record.

11. Sale (registration) of a car under a fake or canceled power of attorney

Even a power of attorney certified by a notary may be invalid if it was revoked by the owner of the car or there was another reason to cancel it. Try to buy a car only from the owner or somehow confirm his consent to sell the car.

12. Selling a car that has been seized or otherwise restricted to change ownership

The current vehicle registration regulations do not require deregistration of the vehicle upon change of ownership. Therefore, the buyer may find himself without a car, having come to the traffic police department to re-register the car for himself. You can check the car in advance on the traffic police website, knowing its VIN number. Or do not pay the seller until the car is registered with the traffic police for a new owner.

13. Sale (registration) of a car under a fake commission agreement or a surety agreement

Carefully check the information that is specified in the sales contract, including the data of the seller (must match the passport) and the car (PTS). Avoid situations where the contract is drawn up or signed without your participation, or you do not see the owner. If the signature in the contract is forged or the data do not match, the contract may be considered invalid.

14. Selling a car from a vehicle with a canceled title or with a wanted title

In order to obtain Russian documents for a car brought from the Republic of Belarus in a simplified manner, the owner of the car provides a certificate that this car complies with Euro-4 environmental standards, which most often does not correspond to reality. Therefore, either the certificates provided are fake, or they were issued unreasonably, and the PTS received are illegal. They periodically do not pass scheduled checks, and problems may arise during subsequent registration actions. It is better to check the car on the traffic police website or conduct an examination of the car.

15. Sale of stolen cars with broken or destroyed numbers and forged documents

Check the car on the traffic police website or use the services of experts to check the legal cleanliness of the car.

16. Counterfeit bills or "dolls" instead of money when paying for a car

Sleight of hand, fuss during the transfer of money, an uncomfortable situation when prescribing a contract and other difficulties can dispel the vigilance of the buyer, and then he will receive fakes or even cut paper instead of counted and verified money. Do not make transactions in uncomfortable conditions. Use the services of thrift shops, notaries, banks and other organizations adapted to verify and transfer money during transactions. And it is better to do this not in the offices offered by the seller, but in companies chosen independently.

17. Advances and deposits via the Internet

Never transfer any money to mobile numbers, e-wallets or make money transfers if you have not seen a car and are not going to buy it. After a few doses of promises, you will most likely never be able to talk to the "owner" of the car again.

Buying a used car is always a lottery. It is much easier to buy a new car, but it is not so profitable anymore, so people are willing to take risks in the hope that their “lottery ticket” will be the winning one. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Indeed, when deciding on an independent purchase of a used car, many do not calculate all the risks that such a transaction carries, which is why they often find themselves in very unpleasant situations. The desire to save money can turn into big troubles for an unprepared person, ranging from the cost of repairing “killed” units to the risk of being left without a car and without money. In this article, we will touch on the main points on which a buyer of a used car can get burned.

Who is the best place to buy a car?

Of course, it is best to buy a car from its direct owner. Well, if it is the first and only, then you can count on the most transparent history. As a rule, such sellers are not very disingenuous, because if serious problems are revealed during the inspection of the car, they will have no one to blame: they say, I bought one, I don’t know anything, I drove it myself - you can’t say that if you bought a new car. The second in priority are the salons of official dealers. Their reputation is extremely expensive, so they, too, if they are cunning, then not much and very carefully. To lose the title of an official dealer is an extremely big loss, so they try not to risk expensive things for the sake of a relatively small profit for them. In last place on our list are resellers and car dealerships without the status of an official dealer, popularly referred to as "gray" dealers. They are the most wise when selling used cars, it is they who most often come across a “pig in a poke”, and not a car.

We evaluate the technical condition

If you have never bought a car before or are poorly versed in its device, it is better to call for help from friends or professionals who provide help with buying and are engaged in the selection of cars. Otherwise, there is a high risk that you will buy a car restored after an accident, with a broken body number or with engine / transmission problems. Very often, mileage is twisted on cars, it is not always easy to determine, the best thing is when the car has a service book with MOT marks from an authorized dealer. But even if the body turns out to be in order, and the declared mileage is real, and at the same time the car looks like candy, this does not mean at all that it is technically sound. Serious malfunctions can be hidden behind the external gloss, skillfully disguised by the seller. It is not difficult to make such a “pre-sale preparation”. So, in order to hide oil smudges on the engine, they thoroughly wash it and then try not to drive too much. If there are problems with compression and oil consumption for waste, all kinds of additives can be poured into the motor or the native synthetic oil can be replaced with a thicker mineral oil - all this helps to restore signs of former health to the worn motor, but not for long. In order to remove the hum in the gearbox or gearbox, some cunning people add sawdust or toilet paper to the lubrication system - the hum really disappears, but the unit comes to an end after a short time and has to be changed. It is also worth checking the expansion tank and engine oil filler cap for emulsion. Its presence indicates a burned-out engine gasket or a bent cylinder head (cylinder head).

Legal purity

Before buying a car, it is always necessary to check its legal cleanliness, as the car may be pledged, encumbered or have restrictions on registration actions. In order to pre-check the car, use the official online traffic police service: you can “break through” the car by its VIN code on the website http://www.gibdd.ru/check/auto/.

It is very important to be able to distinguish between the original vehicle passport (PTS) and a fake one: on a fake one, you can see traces of scuffs in the places of serial numbers, holograms peel off like foil. To the touch, the original PTS resembles a new banknote, and the fake one resembles a sheet of plain paper.

Making a deal

There are car dealerships that fool people when processing the necessary documents. If you are ready to buy a car, and at the same time you are offered to sign a preliminary contract, and not a sales contract, they may want to deceive you. There may be tricky clauses in the preliminary contract. For example:

A) When buying a car, the buyer is obliged to draw up a sales contract through the seller's designer (later you will find out that the designer's service costs 30,000 - 50,000 rubles)

B) In case of refusal to buy a car, the seller has the right to withhold 30% (the percentage may vary) of the amount of the prepayment made under the preliminary agreement (as a rule, the prepayment under such an agreement starts from 50,000 rubles and more)

C) The price of the car without VAT may be indicated in the contract, after signing the contract you will be asked to pay VAT separately, which will increase the cost of the car by 18%.

In addition, it is possible to replace the original sales contract with a similar one, but with different clauses of the contract or amount (suppose you read the contract and everything suited you, then the salon manager says that he incorrectly indicated one digit in the car number and that you need to re-print everything, and only then gives another contract for signature). As for resellers, very often they sell cars using a copy of the previous owner's passport. It is impossible to agree to the purchase of a car according to this scheme in any case: if the sale and purchase agreement was drawn up on behalf of the previous owner, and signed by a reseller, any court may invalidate such a transaction.

Material prepared jointly with AMB Motors