{"id":190247,"date":"2023-11-13T17:57:27","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T21:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=190247"},"modified":"2023-11-13T17:57:27","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T21:57:27","slug":"commentary-online-car-buying-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/commentary-online-car-buying-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"COMMENTARY: Online Car Buying Scams –"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by Audley Philip\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

\nI have spoken to no less than 10\u00a0people.in<\/a>\u00a0Antigua and\u00a0Barbuda who have\u00a0been victims of online vehicle scam within.the\u00a0past\u00a0 year or two.\u00a0 Victims include\u00a0bus\u00a0and taxi\u00a0operators,\u00a0\u00a0prominent downtown business\u00a0operators, farmers, ordinary\u00a0citizens and much\u00a0 more.
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Many people have reached\u00a0out to me sharing\u00a0their story of how they were scammed. Some have even shared bank wire transfer documents where they wired\u00a0funds to what seemed to them as legitimate and authentic business operators\u00a0overseas.\u00a0 . It is quite obvious that this problem\u00a0is far more widespread than is being mentioned but many people are too embarrassed\u00a0to\u00a0 \u00a0come out and publicize the\u00a0fact that they have\u00a0been duped.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u00a0Most car shoppers today use the web in their research or buying process, and it usually goes off without a hitch. But there are shadowy corners of the internet that harbour scammers and crooks, and they are working hard to get your money by using fraud and fakery.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Scammers have created websites that purport to be other escrow services or vehicle shipping companies. The goal is always the same, however: separating you from your money.<\/span><\/div>\n
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This is how the scam works: A car shopper spots a too-good-to-be-true ad on a site where private parties buy and sell cars.\u00a0 The ad may have links to photos of a real vehicle, and there might even be a legitimate vehicle history report. That’s because the scammer has likely cloned an actual car ad. The seller (who typically only wants to communicate via email) has an explanation for why the price is so low.<\/p>

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If a buyer agrees to purchase a vehicle, the fraudulent seller gives the buyer a link and instructs that money be wired to the account of the escrow agent, in the scam. The promise is that the escrow company will hold the cash until the vehicle is delivered. Once the buyer wires the payment, the scammer ceases contact. And the car is never delivered.<\/p>\n

Many people here and regionally\u00a0have lost huge sums of money trying to get a used vehicle\u00a0which was never shipped or for\u00a0 a vehicle that was shipped but was never ordered.<\/p>

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People trying to order used vehicles from overseas\u00a0must be extremely careful and wise and\u00a0 ensure that they do the necessary due diligence and checks and authenticate these car dealers purporting to be legitimate businesses before sending your hard earned cash to them.\u00a0 A word to the wise!<\/p>

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\"\"<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Audley Philip\u00a0 I have spoken to no less than 10\u00a0people.in\u00a0Antigua and\u00a0Barbuda who have\u00a0been victims of online vehicle scam within.the\u00a0past\u00a0 year or two.\u00a0 Victims include\u00a0bus\u00a0and taxi\u00a0operators,\u00a0\u00a0prominent downtown business\u00a0operators, farmers, ordinary\u00a0citizens and much\u00a0 more. Many people have reached\u00a0out to me sharing\u00a0their story of how they were scammed. Some have even shared bank wire transfer documents where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":160184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-190247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCOMMENTARY: Online Car Buying Scams - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/commentary-online-car-buying-scams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COMMENTARY: Online Car Buying Scams -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Audley Philip\u00a0 I have spoken to no less than 10\u00a0people.in\u00a0Antigua and\u00a0Barbuda who have\u00a0been victims of online vehicle scam within.the\u00a0past\u00a0 year or two.\u00a0 Victims include\u00a0bus\u00a0and taxi\u00a0operators,\u00a0\u00a0prominent downtown business\u00a0operators, farmers, ordinary\u00a0citizens and much\u00a0 more. 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