YouTuber Busts A Multimillion Dollar Car Sales Scam

Unfortunately, there are many ways you can fall victim to a scam when you’re looking to buy a car. While in the past it was private parties completely ripping people off and dealerships just giving you a bad deal, these days there are what appear to be legitimate dealers just completely ripping people off. A YouTuber with over 3 million subscribers has helped shed some light on this increasingly common car sales scam, hopefully helping others to avoid the pitfall.

Here are some tips to guard against online car sales fraud.

That YouTuber, Kitboga, often exposes fraud and mocks those behind it, frustrating them to the delight of his audience. This time around he shows how people who aren’t even in the US, oftentimes residing in countries on the other side of the world, are posing as legitimate dealerships selling real cars.

So many people these days are used to buying things online and that includes vehicles. While everyone may have opinions about that, legitimate car dealers do this, so it’s not like every ride sold on the internet is fraudulent.

But you still have to be careful. These fraudsters are taking real vehicle listings from dealers that might not be too far from where you live, using that info in a scheme to separate you from your hard-earned cash.

They will have the photos, car’s VIN, information, dealer logo, etc. all listed on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or wherever else you might be looking for your next ride. Having stolen that legitimate, well-composed ad they’re able to convince people they can send over a down payment on a vehicle and it will be loaded onto a transport headed for their hometown.

These scammers will even set up a phony website using the legitimate dealership’s information, logos, etc. Sometimes those mom and pop dealers don’t even have a website themselves.

While it’s fun to watch in the included video as Kitboga exposes these scammers, keep in mind there are things you can do to protect yourself against these sorts of scams. First off, look up the dealership yourself online and check the contact info as well as the website address to see if they match up with how you’re communicating with the vehicle seller.

Call the dealership and speak with them directly about the car listed for sale. It’s harder for a scammer who’s in Eastern Europe, China, Africa, the Middle East, etc. to sound legitimate if that’s who you’re talking to. Otherwise, you’ll deal directly with the actual American dealership, then you just have to watch out for door guard and chassis undercoating charges.

Image via Facebook Marketplace

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