A hoary old urban legend tells of a prospective used car purchaser coming across a Porsche / Ferrari / Rolls Royce / (insert dream car of choice) for sale at a ridiculously low price. When he went to enquire he found himself drooling at an immaculate vehicle. Full service history, low mileage, all for a stunningly low amount. A flicker of doubt crossed his mind – was it legit? Why was the price so low? The tale then recounts that the female vendor had been left the car by her philandering ex-husband as part of a swift divorce settlement. He had left her the house, the children, the holiday home, the dogs. His very generous final instructions had been a request for her to sell the car and send whatever she made onto him in full and final settlement. So she sells the car for £10. The story doesn’t record the husband’s reaction. It didn’t need to.

Over the years I’ve heard this story dozens of times – maybe different car, sometimes different circumstances, but always ending with the purchaser pulling off the deal of the century. Every time the story teller will swear it’s true. Perhaps we all want it to be true, and for these deals to exist. Unfortunately, it’s this willing mindset into which some of the most elaborate but increasingly common car buying scams taps into, and it’s paying dividends for the scammers and major financial loss for the victims.

With more and more of us choosing to shop online for vehicles, there are now an increasing amount of internet scams designed to cheat buyers. HPI, the independent vehicle information provider, have highlighted a spate of online scams involving non-existent vehicles being sold online using fraudulent vehicle checks.

“We are urging used car buyers to be just as vigilant when buying online, as they would be using any other method,” explains Nick Lindsay, Director of HPI. “A number of customers have been victims of online fraudsters, paying for vehicles that the seller claims is with a shipping company. However, the buyer hands over the cash in good faith and the car never turns up, leaving them seriously out of pocket.”

One unsuspecting purchaser learnt this lesson the hard way. An HPI customer had found the car they wanted and the seller provided him with a copy of an HPI Check. The customer then asked HPI if it was genuine and it was quickly spotted that although the reference number related to a genuine check, the results had been altered.

The seller had claimed that the car was abroad, located with a shipping company ready to import back to the UK. The buyer had been instructed to transfer payment for the car to a third party holding company on the understanding that the money would only be released to the seller once the buyer had received the car. Strangely, although the sale went ahead, the car never arrived, and the buyer was left with an £8,000 hole in his bank account.

The case was investigated and it was found that the car advertised was legitimate and sitting on a genuine dealer’s forecourt. The scammers use fraudulent credit cards to make HPI Checks, having obtained the DVLA details of genuine vehicles they have seen for sale. They then go online to sell cars they don’t even own.

HPI has been getting an increasing number of queries from potential buyers who have seen cars for sale online, often being advertised for up to 50 per cent of the real value.

“If the car sounds too good to be true for the price, that’s probably because it is,” warns Nick Lindsay. “ In some cases, buyers are prepared to fly out to inspect the car they are interested in, but the vendor always finds an excuse. As more and more people choose the convenience of buying cars online, it is more essential than ever that they do their own HPI Check. Don’t take everything a seller says on face value and we advise buyers to never purchase a vehicle without either seeing it themselves or having it inspected by an independent expert.”

Like all scams, this one will run and run. It may be carefully refined and altered over time, but fundamentally it will always have one aim – money for nothing. Whether from some dodgy backstreet motors or a swish virtual forecourt, the carrot of a fantastic car for a knock down price will continue to entice many more victims.

Now, did I tell you about the latest rumour doing the rounds about the secret 300mpg petrol car with zero emissions? Apparently a friend of a friend’s wife’s cousin heard…

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