Dependable Auto Shippers Shares Tips to Avoid Online Auto Fraud

Feb. 25, 2011 - PRLog -- In recognition of National Consumer Protection Week March 6-March 12, Dependable Auto Shippers (DAS), one of the largest privately owned vehicle relocation services in the U.S. since 1954, shares the top five tips to help protect consumers from online auto fraud.

“Each month we receive approximately 700 calls from consumers who have fallen prey to an online auto scam,” said John Roehll, executive vice president of sales and marketing at DAS. “Many online scams are more sophisticated than you would expect, and they frequently use trusted names like ours as a part of the trap to lure in unsuspecting victims.”

Since DAS cannot provide much recourse for a victim of online auto fraud once money has exchanged hands, it is releasing the following top five tips to help consumers shop smarter and safer in hopes of preventing fraud altogether:  

1.   Never wire money – No legitimate car dealer would require a wire transfer even if just for the down payment.
2.   Validate the source – Pick up the phone and call the auto dealer or seller to get some information on their background and history. Anyone can build a legitimate looking website, but if the seller makes excuses for not being able to speak with you personally, that is a good indicator of a possible scam.
3.   Show me more than the CARFAX – While a consumer should always ask for a CARFAX report, some scammers will actually pull real reports for their fake car. To best protect yourself, do your own background check on the vehicle to ensure everything matches up correctly with the CARFAX. Also, check that the registration or license plate matches the seller’s name.
4.   Validate the details – If the seller says the vehicle in question is currently being held by a vehicle relocation company and will be shipped once payment is made, then spend some time verifying this statement. Do an online search of the vehicle relocation company – never trust the website or the number you are given – and call to validate the arrangement.
5.   Make it picture perfect – If the seller is sharing only a stock image of the vehicle rather than an actual photo of the car with the license plate visible, this is a good indication the real car does not exist. Also, pay attention to the details. Does the seller say the car has grey leather interior and in the photo it looks beige? You can even go as far as giving the seller a specific location to photograph the car. For example, find a restaurant in the seller’s area and ask him or her to photograph the car with license plate visible in front of that restaurant.  

“Providing shipping services to online auto consumers is a large portion of our business, and as industry leaders, we want to raise awareness to protect those consumers,” said Roehll. “By releasing these tips and educating the public, we not only hope that consumers will have peace-of-mind when shopping online, but more importantly, we hope to see an end to online auto fraud.”

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About DAS
Founded in 1954, Dependable Auto Shippers (DAS) is one of the largest privately owned vehicle relocation companies worldwide, providing safe and efficient service for more than 100,000 consumer and corporate vehicles a year. DAS ships everything from cars and motorcycles to vans and specialty vehicles via a number of transport options. The company is headquartered in Dallas with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Newark, N.J., and operates a network of 95 domestic terminals. DAS also provides cross border and cross water transportations services. For more information about shipping with DAS, visit www.dasautoshippers.com.