Do you know what yields the most consumer complaints with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office?
Motor vehicles.
Complaints include those from consumers who have lost money attempting to purchase vehicles or farm equipment from fake websites.
Scammers’ prices often are significantly lower than expected, and they may have a legitimate-looking website with many pictures. Oftentimes, the scammers “clone” the inventory of a legitimate dealer or use the name and/or address of a real business that doesn’t have a website. In such cases, searching for the business by name or address may yield results indicating that the business is well-established, providing false security to the unassuming buyer.
To avoid losing money through a fictitious posting or website, look for these red flags:
- If the price is too good to be true, it probably is.
- Check the website’s registration information at www.whois.com/whois. This site shows when the website address was registered, which often is within the past few months if the site is fraudulent.
- Scammers often offer “free delivery.”
- Money transfer services (such as Western Union or MoneyGram), cryptocurrency and gift cards are often the preferred methods of payment of scammers.
- Some scammers offer to use a fake “escrow service” to make the transaction seem safe. Watch out for scams that purport to be affiliated with legitimate companies, such as eBay or PayPal; sometimes scammers even use the logos of the real companies.
- Download one or more of the photos from the website and conduct an image search using Google or a similar search engine. Scammers often steal photos from legitimate websites or use stock photos, so check whether the exact images can be found online on other webpages.
- Be wary of a seller who is unwilling to meet in person.
- Don’t buy motor vehicles or farm equipment without first seeing it in person. Steer clear of making deposits or down payments before seeing the vehicle firsthand.
- Don’t be rushed. Scammers try to create a false sense of pressure by claiming there are other interested buyers and that you need to act right away to secure the purchase.
The Attorney General’s Office has fielded some complaints recently about the bill of sale for the vehicle not accurately reflecting the transaction between the buyer and the dealership. The bill of sale — essentially a receipt — should properly list the vehicle being purchased (including the VIN), the total vehicle cost, the odometer reading at the time of sale, both the dealership’s and consumer’s mailing addresses, and other details about the transaction. Consumers should carefully review the bill of sale for accuracy before finalizing the transaction with the dealer.
Finally, every financed motor-vehicle sale must include a disclosure box with information under the federal Truth in Lending Act. The box explains to the consumer the true cost of financing the vehicle, including the interest rate, down payment amount, purchase price, cost of interest payments, and overall cost of the vehicle (with interest and principal payments). Consumers should carefully review the Truth in Lending Act
information before completing the sale.
Consumers in the market for a used motor vehicle should review the Ohio Attorney General’s
Used Car Buyer Checklist for tips on how to find the right dealership and the right vehicle for you.
Consumers who suspect a scam or an unfair business practice should contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at www.OhioProtects.org or 800-282-0515.