When looking to buy a car online, a deal too good to believe may nothing more than a scam, authorities warn as they investigate several cases of online fraud.
The Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) told the press of a case where a Toyota Landcruiser, license plate number 647531, is being offered at a ridiculous price on the website crautos.com. (The website is not part of the scam)
The deal seems legit, the registered owner’s name (a woman) and contact information, an email, is included in the ad. On contact the woman verifies that the vehicle is for sale and that the “low” price is correct.
The story is that the vehicle is not being used, stored in a warehouse and that she is out of the country and needs to sell it urgently.
One condition, payment must be up front. The reason for the advance payment is avoid problems of the past where buyers have wasted her time, only to then not close the deal.
One buyer bought into the story and made the up front payment, only to find that the deal is a scam and filed a compalint with the OIJ.
Authorities are warning of similar scams, to be extremely careful when purchasing on the internet and not to make any advance payments when buying a vehicle online and to file a complaint if a scam is suspected.
