Coronavirus Fraud Warning
You may have already heard of an increase in general levels of fraud during Coronavirus. I'm afraid that the motorhome and caravan industry has not avoided this trend. Across the different divisions of our motorhome and caravan business, we keep our finger on the pulse of the private sales market. We speak to many buyers and sellers on a daily basis and we monitor values and vehicles advertised for sale. In some cases, people are telling us about attempted frauds they have experienced. In many cases we are spotting the frauds ourselves and alerting the people who are being targeted. In recent weeks we have seen a noticeable increase in fraudulent activity.
Please take a few minutes to read this article, remain vigilant and remember the golden rule - if it seems too good to be true, it usually is!
The Three Most Common Scams
These days, it seems that almost every part of life where there is money to be made, is being targeted by fraudsters. And the private sales market for motorhomes is no exception. Here are three types of fraud that we have recently been made aware of. These examples will give you a idea of what to look out for, but there will be new types of fraud appearing all of the time and you should use a reputable company to buy or sell a motorhome, in order to avoid it.
Example 1 - The false listing. This is very straight forward but very tempting. The details of a genuine motorhome listing on a website are lifted and re-listed elsewhere at a much lower price. Everything looks right and the price looks too good to be true. There will be a compelling story as to why the motorhome is so cheap and a very plausible person to speak to over the phone. (In the case we heard of it was an elderly lady!) All they are asking for is a deposit to hold the motorhome for you and not sell it to one of the many other interested parties they have....
Example 2 - The bank transfer. Again, a simple fraud, but one you could easily be caught out by. In this instance, when the buyer arrived at the motorhome seller's house to collect, they agreed to pay by doing a bank transfer using their mobile phone. First, the buyer asked for the seller's bank account details. They showed the seller their phone to confirm that the details they had entered and the transaction amount were correct. Then, the buyer covertly changed the account details to an account of their own and completed the transaction, again showing the seller their phone to confirm that the money had left their account. In this case, it was only the insistence of the seller on seeing that the money had arrived in their own bank account before they released the keys, that prevented the fraud.
Example 3 - Email substitution. This is a more sophisticated fraud and one that has been in the news lately because it has even caught out solicitors completing property transactions. In this case, the fraudsters gain access to the seller's email account. They monitor the seller's emails until the email is sent providing their bank details for the buyer to make payment into. At this point, the fraudsters substitute this email with an identical email of their own, containing their bank details. And hey presto, the buyer pays the money for their new motorhome into an untraceable fraudsters account. You'll be pleased to know that Motorhome Depot use sophisticated anti-fraud software to prevent this specific type of fraud!
Motorhome Depot - The Easy, Secure Way to Buy or Sell A Motorhome
Motorhomedepot.com provides a secure way for you to buy or sell a privately owned motorhome. If you have a motorhome to sell, start by getting your free valuation here. If you want to buy a motorhome, start your search here.
Stay safe and remain vigilant.
The Motorhome Depot Team.
