6:20 am, September 25, 2022
Criminals are still scamming used car buyers by trying to sell them cars that don’t exist via a fake website.
Despite a police investigation, adverts for AD Car Sales – a clone of a genuine dealership set up online – are still being published on Facebook days after Car Dealer broke news of the con.
The adverts are for used cars that are less than half price and are used to entice customers to the AD Car Sales website that looks genuine, but isn’t.
Five days after our initial report, adverts for the fake car dealership are still appearing on Facebook advertising the same Mini Countryman – this time with the price cut even lower.
The 2016 model’s latest advert has seen the price slashed from £4,770 earlier in the week to £3,870 to lure more unsuspecting victims.
The car should have a retail price of more than £10,000 and is being used to catch out unwary buyers into handing over a deposit or, in the worst case, the full amount over the phone.
‘This Mini has been posted on Facebook again 22 hours ago at a lower price,’ reported the consumer who tipped Car Dealer off to the scam.
‘I reported the last post as a scam so I will do the same for this one. How do we stop these people?’
Car Dealer has reported the site to the website hosting company, Namecheap.com.
A spokesman for its ‘Legal & Abuse Department’ said: ‘We have thoroughly investigated the allegation to the extent of our capabilities, but we were unable to validate the claim.’
This was despite a copy of our story and the fake adverts being sent to the firm.
The fictitious adverts on Facebook have also been reported.
A Car Dealer investigation this week found that the fake car dealer had already conned countless buyers out of cash.
The website says the firm’s showroom is based in Millie Street, Kirkcaldy, but local businesses nearby told us it is fictitious.
The AD Car Sales website is a scam
One business owner based next door said it had met people who had travelled from as far away as London to pick up cars to find the dealer doesn’t exist and that they’d been scammed.
Car Dealer called the fake dealer earlier this week and the salesman wanted us to pay a deposit before we were allowed to see the car.
When we said we’d struggled to find their showroom, the salesman hung up the phone. You can watch the video of the call at the top of this story.
The conmen have cloned a genuine dealership business that no longer actively trades. Accountants for that business told Car Dealer the directors were aware of the scam and that an ‘investigation was ongoing’.
Jim Holder, editorial director of What Car?, warned that deals that look too good to be true online usually are.
He said reputable dealers are unlikely to be selling their cars just through social media sites and would not ask for a deposit or car payment in full before consumers had seen the vehicle.
‘If they refuse to let you even see the car before you send a deposit then, then walk away,’ he said.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: ‘Enquiries are ongoing’
We discuss this story and the investigation in the latest episode of the Car Dealer Podcast, which you can find on all good podcast platforms or embedded below on Spotify.
If you have been conned by AD Car Sales or a similar scam get in touch with the Car Dealer editorial team using the email button below.
