Gardaí issue warning on car buying scam

Mr_Red

There has been an upsurge in the number of cars being purchased with fake bank drafts and sold on to unsuspecting buyers for cash, the gardaí have said.

In a warning issued yesterday, gardaí said there have already been 24 cases of cars being stolen in this manner compared with 21 for all of 2013.

In the past three years, 78 cars (out of 79) have been recovered after being purchased with fake bank drafts. Gardaí returned all the vehicles to their owners but the unsuspecting buyers were left out of pocket, with one person losing €40,000.

The force is now urging members of the public to take necessary precautions before finalising the sale of cars.
In general, the scam involves criminals contacting people who are advertising their vehicles for sale on classified websites to arrange a viewing. The criminals will also place “drivers wanted” notices online. The applicants are asked to meet for an interview in pubs, hotel receptions or car parks. These drivers are then instructed by phone to met prospective sellers to view vehicles.

The criminals make arrangements to purchase the vehicle using a bank draft without actually viewing it personally. The transaction will tend to take place outside of banking hours, usually on a Friday evening.
The draft is handed over and the driver receives the vehicle and vehicle registration certificate. The seller is told the buyer is in the motor trade and given an RF105 (change of ownership to motor dealer) form with details of a non-existent garage.

Often the vehicle has already been re-advertised below the market value online. Upon changing hands it is quickly resold, within hours sometimes, to an unsuspecting buyer.
When the false draft is discovered, the vehicle is reported as stolen.

The gardaí have advised sellers and buyers to get advance details of any bank draft and ensure it is legitimate; avoid buying a car in a car park and walk away from any seller unwilling to provide details for verification.
They have advised buyers never to purchase vehicles on first viewing; to be wary of vehicles advertised at prices below market value and to use traceable methods of payment.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/garda%C3%AD-issue-warning-on-car-buying-scam-1.1836718

corktina

fancy someone being daft enough to accept a bank draft

mickdw

corktina wrote: »

fancy someone being daft enough to accept a bank draft

Alot of people still see them as being as good as cash. Silly but that's how it is.
imo the gardai could get more involvef in general.
I have a feeling that if I went to gardai having spotted this scam and avoided it, the likely garda response would be ..... Did they take your car? No. No crime committed. Goodbye.

Iseedeadpixels

Cash in hand is the only way I would sell a car.

mickdw

Iseedeadpixels wrote: »

Cash in hand is the only way I would sell a car.

That's all well and good but there are issues with that too certainly when large amounts of cash are involved.
Cash could be counterfeit, cash could be stolen back off you that evening. So really with a cash dealfor a more expensive car, you would want to be lodging it direct to the bank to ensure safety.

Iseedeadpixels

mickdw wrote: »

That's all well and good but there are issues with that too certainly when large amounts of cash are involved.
Cash could be counterfeit, cash could be stolen back off you that evening. So really with a cash dealfor a more expensive car, you would want to be lodging it direct to the bank to ensure safety.

The cars I drive are worth no more than 1000 euro, I always check the money given to me to make sure its all there and doesn't look dodgy, I never sell my car outside my house and insist I send the logbook so no issues with them finding my address or even if the money was fake I could still prove ownership to the Garda etc.

I have done this now for about 9 years and have sold about 6 cars in that time with no problems.

visual

Buying a car in pub car park or anycar park is asking for trouble.

If there is nothing to hide then there should be no issue buying from the registered owner at the registered address.

Henry Ford III

corktina wrote: »

fancy someone being daft enough to accept a bank draft

I'd happily accept one, but only after verifying it's authenticity with the issuing bank.

micks_address

Yep, have heard a few stories of people selling cars for cash only for the cash to be counterfeit, if you are selling in for cash, i heard of one case where the seller made sure the transaction was at a petrol station that had one of those counterfeit checking pens - he brought the cash inside and asked the sales person to check it and it all checked out.. at least he new the cash was real....

mickdw wrote: »

That's all well and good but there are issues with that too certainly when large amounts of cash are involved.
Cash could be counterfeit, cash could be stolen back off you that evening. So really with a cash dealfor a more expensive car, you would want to be lodging it direct to the bank to ensure safety.

monkeysnapper

What's wrong with meeting outside a bank , then going inside with buyer and lodging money there and then , I mean cash now , sounds good to me, ok if it's weekend that won't work but surely you can wait till mon morning, it's not as if your buying a bottle of shampoo .

Iseedeadpixels

visual wrote: »

Buying a car in pub car park or anycar park is asking for trouble.

If there is nothing to hide then there should be no issue buying from the registered owner at the registered address.

That's not true at all, it's just easier to meet at a known spot as a lot of people still haven't grasped gps yet.

There can also be a safety issue with meeting at your address, we sold a car to a lad who inspected it top to bottom, 3 weeks later he rings wanting his money back saying we hid rust even though he inspected that area and was saying he was on his way to smash us up etc.

Supergurrier

This is hardly new.

Supergurrier

monkeysnapper wrote: »

What's wrong with meeting outside a bank , then going inside with buyer and lodging money there and then , I mean cash now , sounds good to me, ok if it's weekend that won't work but surely you can wait till mon morning, it's not as if your buying a bottle of shampoo .

This x100.

If they can't do it on a weekday well then they are obviously not too bothered as they went to the trouble of getting the draft on a weekday.

tom_tarbucket

Iseedeadpixels wrote: »

we sold a car to a lad who inspected it top to bottom, 3 weeks later he rings wanting his money back saying we hid rust even though he inspected that area and was saying he was on his way to smash us up etc.

Tell us more, how did this end

bladebrew

It seems to be ok to take the bank draft, even if it is fake, the cars are sold on quickly for cash so the seller given the fake draft gets their car back, it's the person that buys the car for cash loses out!!

mickdw

True enough but only a fool would want to get involved in any of that messing.
Again, if I was buying private with cash, I would want to be buying it from the registered address from the registered owner (quick look at driving licence) and from an owner who has not just acquired the car.
After that, try to avoid the fake reg cert scam and finally worry about getting a good car.

demanufactured

mickdw wrote: »

Alot of people still see them as being as good as cash. Silly but that's how it is.
imo the gardai could get more involvef in general.
I have a feeling that if I went to gardai having spotted this scam and avoided it, the likely garda response would be ..... Did they take your VEH ICKEL? No. No crime committed. Goodbye.

FYP

Soarer

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Tell us more, how did this end

I'd imagine it went something like this.

ring, ring.

"Hello. I bought a car from you a few weeks ago and it's covered in rust. I'd like my money back please."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

click.

Iseedeadpixels

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Tell us more, how did this end

Told him to come on down that myself my Father and Brother where here, I text a friend who knew him and had pretty much put him in contact with us and he sorted it, the guy ended up in jail for serious assault on his girlfriend a few months later so seems he only likes to hit women.