How to spot and avoid potential scams

Working at Autotrader means I naturally get a lot of questions about buying and selling cars from my loved ones.

When selling your car, my most important tip has always been to stay cautious of potential scams online.

Here are my seven top tips that can help you sell your car safely:

1. Protect your account and use strong passwords:

• Never disclose your account details to anyone, and always ensure your password is strong by using a combination of letters and digits, including upper and lower case.
• Change your password regularly and do not use the same passwords for all your online accounts.

2. Watch out for fraudulent buyers:

• Keep your communications through our platform where possible and never share your login details with anyone.
• When it comes to vehicle history checks, it is always the buyer’s responsibility to carry it out and pay for it. If a buyer insists you run a check, it’s best to politely decline and state it's their responsibility. However, if you do choose to provide one, stick to reputable platforms like Autotrader and thoroughly research any unfamiliar sites before entering your card details.
• If a potential buyer wants to see your logbook, make sure you do this in-person only. You should never send a photo or let them take a photo of the logbook as they can misuse the V5C document reference number.

3. Stay vigilant during viewings:

• If a buyer brings a friend or mechanic, keep a very close eye on them to ensure they aren't secretly tampering with the engine to plant fake faults.
• Make sure you’ve done a thorough check of the car beforehand so that you know its condition inside out. This way, you can’t have someone else challenge you on its condition.
• It can be helpful to have a friend or family member present with you during the viewing so that one of you can keep an eye on the buyer, while the other watches their companion.
• When coordinating with potential buyers, confirm who’ll be coming for the viewing and set a limit to avoid a large group from showing up.
• Never handover your car keys to the potential buyer. If you have a keyless fob, you should keep hold of it during any test drives. This ensures you’ve got control over the car at all times.

4. Allow test drives with caution:

• Before letting anyone test drive your car, ask to see their driving licence to verify that the photo matches, and confirm that they have the appropriate insurance cover to drive your vehicle.
• It can help to have a friend or family member with you during the viewing and the test drive. This helps provide peace of mind so that you aren't outnumbered, and it deters anyone from trying anything sketchy.

5. Use a safe method for payment:

• Bank transfers are generally considered a fast and safe method of payment. If you’re a seller receiving a bank transfer, you should only hand over your keys when you can personally see the cleared funds in your own bank account.
• If using cash for payment, you should meet at a bank so that the bank can verify that the notes are genuine.

6. Tell the DVLA you’ve sold your vehicle:

• You should inform the DVLA as soon as you’ve sold your car. Getting the ownership records updated straight away means you won't get stuck with any unfair fines if the new driver gets caught breaking the rules of the road.
• Find out how you can inform the DVLA you’ve sold your car in our step-by-step guide.​

7. Watch out for common scams:

I also recommend everyone to learn about common scams so that they can easily identify them if they’re being targeted.

Here are some common scams used by fraudsters:

Phishing or SmiShing

This is when fraudsters send an email or an SMS (text message) designed to look like it’s from the website your car’s advertised on. The message will usually ask you to ‘verify’ your account, log in via a link or click on a link for some other reason. These links lead to fake sites designed to steal your password or download some type of 'malware' (malicious software) onto your mobile.

Top tips:

• Examine the sender’s email closely and look for any spelling mistakes If you spot a fraudulent email or text message, do not click on any links and delete it immediately.
• If you wish, you can also report a phishing attempt to the UK government by forwarding the suspicious email to report@phishing.gov.uk or a suspicious text message to 7726 for free.

Canvassers

These are people who call sellers pretending to have a buyer waiting if you pay them a small fee to list elsewhere. In reality, they just want your money.

Top tips:

• Usually, these canvassers will try and entice you with the dream of a quick and easy sale in exchange for a service fee. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it’s usually just a scam.
• Try to keep your communications through our platform where possible and never share your login details with anyone.
• To stay safe, you should avoid paying upfront deposits to such callers as it’s likely to be a scam
• Never put your phone number in the advert description as it’ll help prevent these canvassers from getting your number

The ‘overpayment’ scam

In this scam, a buyer may offer to buy your car for the full amount via PayPal, but ‘accidentally’ overpay you. They will then ask you to refund the difference using a different payment method before cancelling their original transaction, leaving you out of pocket.

Top tips:

• To avoid this, make sure you’re using a safe and secure method of payment such as a bank transfer instead of PayPal.
• Wait until you see the money in your account on your banking app before you hand over the keys.
• Remember, you don’t need to share your card number, security code, or expiry date for a bank transfer.

The fake shipping fee

Here, a fraudulent buyer poses as an exporter and ask you to pay ‘shipping fees’ or ‘insurance’ upfront for an overseas buyer, promising to reimburse you later. Once you pay the fee, the buyer stops responding and doesn’t reimburse the money.

Top tips:

• To avoid this, you should refuse the transaction as the buyer should be responsible for paying any shipping or insurance fees for any overseas purchases.

Three safety features at Autotrader

1. Use Autotrader’s ‘Hide your number’ service

When you place an advert on Autotrader, you can use our free ‘Hide your number’ service to prevent any potential buyers from accessing your phone number.

Not only does this service help protect you against scammers, nuisance callers and canvassers, it also helps protect you from receiving fraudulent phishing text messages.

2. Our dedicated safety & security team

At Autotrader, we have a specialist team working seven days a week that you can reach out to with any questions.

Whether you’re buying or selling a car, you can contact our dedicated safety and security centre at any point.

If you ever receive a suspicious email, you can reach out to us at customersecurity@autotrader.co.uk and we’ll have our professionals ready to assist you.

3. Use Vehicle Check to find out more about the car

Before you part with your money, you can use our Vehicle Check service to get a comprehensive 26-point independent report on any car.

Plus, for total peace of mind, our full check comes with a data guarantee of up to £30,000  (terms and conditions apply).

Using Autotrader’s Vehicle Check also means you’re protected against phishing traps where scammers pressure sellers into buying fake, overpriced ‘vehicle history reports’ from dodgy websites just to steal your card details. If you use Auto Trader's official vehicle check and have your report ready to hand over, you can shut down those scams by telling sketchy ‘buyers’ you already have a legitimate, 26-point independent history report from a reputable provider.