Auto Loans Report Brings Attention to Online Used-Car Purchases

Sept. 7, 2011 - PRLog -- AutoLoans.com, a free supplier of car financing quotes, has published a new report emphasizing the fairly common problem of fraudulent activity in the used-auto-buying market online. As more and more consumers shop for vehicles online, the prevalence of the fraud grows as well.

“What we found in our investigation is that a handful of unscrupulous ‘sellers’ use relatively trustworthy sites like Craigslist to showcase cars, typically at too-good-to-be-true prices. These sellers then somehow convince the buyer to send the money for the vehicle, and when the car never shows up or never existed in the first place, the seller is long gone with the cash. These con artists are extremely hard to track down too, so getting the buyer’s money back is often a lost cause,” explained Mick Ronson, spokesman for Auto Loans.

Buyers also sometimes commit used-car fraud, though it is far less common. Buyers will send the seller some fraudulent form of payment, such as a counterfeit money order or cashier’s check. If the seller then does not wait to deliver the vehicle until the check clears, the buyer can abscond with the car.

“Our lenders offer auto loans for used vehicles as well as new, so we get a lot of traffic on our site from prospective used-car buyers. We hope this new report makes potential buyers more aware of the pitfalls of using anything but the most trusted sites if they shop for their used vehicles online. The report also urges them to take extra precautions when using sites like Craigslist, such as buying only from professional used-car dealers rather than individuals. That way, the buyer can easily verify the existence and reputation of the seller,” said Mr. Ronson.

For more information, call 800-609-1716 or visit: http://www.autoloans.com.