2:12 pm, October 7, 2022
A new criminal car dealer website offering used cars at knock down prices has sprung up a week after an identical site was shut down.
No sooner have police and fraud prevention teams shut down one dodgy car dealer website, the scammers have set up another con.
Car Dealer found criminals have launched the new sham – Miller Car Sales Ltd – which is advertising used cars at less than half their usual price.
Three cars checked on the fake site by CAP HPI, the trade pricing experts, for Car Dealer revealed they were being sold for an average of less than 60 per cent of the correct price.
The cars are advertised on social media and the website is used to make the dealer look genuine.
It purports to be based in Lambert, Scotland, but checks we made with neighbouring businesses revealed it was not there.
A representative of the Scottish Motor Trade Association (SMTA) visited the address on Car Dealer’s behalf and found no showroom by the name of Millers Car Sales.
Car Dealer also called the number on the website posing as a buyer – in a video you can watch above – and the same person answered the call who we spoke to when we called AD Car Sales two weeks before (see second video below).
Following our investigation into the sham AD Car Sales website, the authorities have shut it down.
The BBC also investigated an identical scam that cloned a genuine car dealership in Scotland that conned buyers out of thousands of pounds. That site – Auto-Promotions – has also been shut down.
However, the Miller Car Sales site has quickly taken their place and there are likely to be many more in operation across the country.
The new site was set up this week and is again hosted with Namecheap.com, which refused to take the site down when Car Dealer reported it.
Police Scotland has not commented on the extent of its investigations into the fake sites, but said an ‘ongoing investigation’ was taking place.
How to spot a fake used car dealer website
The same clues that help you spot a fake car dealership website are apparent with the current con:
- The cars are advertised at suspiciously cheap prices
- The pictures of the cars are all taken in different locations
- The address does not exist on Google Maps when checked in Streetview
- The pictures of the apparent directors are fake and stolen from stock image sites
- When you call the number, they want payment of a deposit before you are allowed to see the car
Sandy Burgess, chief executive of the SMTA, said he had been targeted by a similar con 10 years ago when he was running a car dealership.
Back then, someone arrived from Belgium at his site having paid a deposit for a left-hand-drive Audi Q7 to a conman over the phone.
‘This is just a new version of that con and is now even more sophisticated,’ he said.
‘It does appear to be a growing problem and we’re aware of your investigation and the BBC’s.
‘We are keeping a very close eye on it.
‘There are on-going police investigations into this and they are being tackled by the cyber crime units.
‘This is a worrying trend and the police often struggle to track the money. It has usually bounced around the world by the time they investigate the cons.’
Burgess said he fears that consumers have grown increasingly comfortable with buying used cars online and believe consumer laws, like distance selling regulations, will protect them.
‘Consumers are more comfortable buying online and it means they are more likely to let their guard down,’ he added.
‘People think they will be protected – and they are, when buying from reputable dealers – but not from conmen.
‘The issue is the whole industry gets tarred with this brush. We need to remember these are not dodgy car dealers – these are cyber criminals.’
Advice on spotting a con
Jim Holder, What Car? editorial director, warned that ‘if a deal looks too good to be true, it usually is’.
He said consumers should check whether the alleged car dealer has reviews on genuine advertising platforms, not just social media, and not hand money over before seeing a car.
He added: ‘Our advice always comes back to trusting your instincts and doing your homework.
‘The first warning sign is always that if a deal looks too good to be true it probably is – so if that little voice pops into your head immediately go on high alert. Check and recheck every detail.
‘Then, do your homework, and heed any warning signs: is the photography taken at a consistent location, do any photos or profiles of the staff look credible, does the dealership have any reviews online, when you call does the person who answers the phone give their name and address, and is that address actually a car dealership when you go on Streetview?
‘Finally, always think very carefully about paying a deposit before you go to see the car.
‘It’s okay for major retail chains to ask for a holding deposit, but unless you are asking them to hold the car for a long time there’s very little reason a smaller dealer should request one. If they do, it’s a clear sign to be careful.’
More: What happened when we called conman car dealer
If you’ve spotted a suspect car dealer website that has been reported, let the Car Dealer team by contacting us using the email links on this page.
