Cartell featured in the media during the week warning consumers about the latest tactics used by unscrupulous individuals to con unsuspecting buyers and sellers of vehicles. The news comes on the back of a Garda warning, issued to the Irish Independent, which states that a sophisticated scheme involving fake bank drafts had already conned 79 individuals in the last 3 years.

How it Works

There are three separate parts to this scheme:

Part 1: An unscrupulous buyer identifies a vehicle for sale online and immediately uses the photos in the advertisement to create another ad offering the vehicle for sale on a different website – this time markedly below market value to attract attention. This unscrupulous buyer will then arrange to meet with the seller on a Friday evening and will hand over a bank draft. In return he receives the Vehicle Registration Certificate and the vehicle. Often the unscrupulous buyer will say he represents a car dealer and will hand over a transfer to garage form to the unsuspecting seller. This form will be entirely falsified. The seller will go to his bank on Monday morning and will then discover the draft is a fake. He will report the vehicle as stolen to the Gardai.

Part 2: Meanwhile the ad advertising the vehicle for sale below market value has attracted attention from another unsuspecting individual – this time a prospective buyer. This individual will be contacted and the transaction will be arranged for a public car park. The unscrupulous seller will hand over the Vehicle Registration Certificate from the first transaction earlier and in return will deliver the car to the buyer in return for cash. That buyer will register the car in his own name. Unfortunately, at some point in the future, he will receive a call from the Gardai to inform him he has bought a stolen vehicle. The vehicle will be returned to the original owner (this has happened in 78 out of 79 cases) but the cash will be gone. One individual was down €40,000 last year.

Part 3: To further distance the criminality from the transactions unscrupulous individuals will advertise “drivers wanted” advertisements. Interviews, with unsuspecting individuals, will take place in hotel lobbies or pubs. These “drivers” unwittingly carry out the core transactions in the above two scenarios.

Buyer Advice

When buying or selling a vehicle there are certain precautions which should be taken on both sides. Ideally the transaction should take place at the sellers house, and this should, obviously, correspond to the address on the Vehicle Registration Certificate. The seller should show identification, a passport, or drivers license, to verify that the individual named on the Certificate is the same as the individual concluding the transaction. Sometimes individuals purport to sell “on behalf” of other family members, or friends. While these sorts of transactions are often legitimate they should be treated with caution. The seller, under no circumstances, should allow the buyer to take a picture, or copy in any way the identification offered.

In terms of exchange of monies this should ideally be done by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) from the buyers bank account to the sellers account. This creates a paper trail, easily traceable. If an EFT is not possible then a bank draft is often used. If the buyer intends to pay by bank draft then this should be verified by the seller with the buyers bank, if possible, in advance of the transaction. An alternative method of payment is for both parties to go together to the bank and carry out the exchange of funds together. Cartell does not recommend cash transactions as they leave no proper paper trail.

Remember! Under no circumstances accept an unverified bank draft late on a Friday evening! Beware of carrying out transactions in public car parks! Beware “drivers wanted!” adverts!

Carry out a Cartell check. Among the services we offer is verification of the Vehicle Registration Certificate number and the VIN number.