Around seven million used cars change hands every year. Online platforms such as mobile.de or autoscout24 have become established for sellers because they give providers and interested parties the opportunity to offer or buy vehicles throughout Germany.
But these marketplaces are also home to fraudsters, dubious traders and online criminals.
ESET security expert Thorsten Urbanski reports on his experiences and experiences selling cars in his latest article on WeliveSecurity.
“The delivery bottlenecks in the automotive industry have caused the prices for used cars to skyrocket. However, there are many black sheep on the relevant online platforms, so it is important to look closely and remain suspicious,” says Thorsten Urbanski, ESET security expert.
“When I sold my car, I had numerous inquiries from dubious interested parties in a very short space of time. A common ploy was to try to lure me off the platform with the first contact request and to get me to only communicate by email or telephone.”
The expert can only advise against this because, in his opinion, these are often dubious car dealers or online fraudsters.
Be careful of manipulated malicious code or phishing sites
“When placing online advertisements, sellers should not leave the providers’ secure communication channels. The same applies to messages with links to websites with alleged vehicle reviews. In case of doubt, this could also be a case of manipulated malicious code or phishing sites.”
A particularly popular scam to reduce the purchase price is standardized begging messages.
“An interested party pretended to be a poor student and tried to arouse my pity in order to drive down the purchase price. The same applies here: leave these emails unanswered and delete them immediately.”
Avoid a rude awakening
Digitalization has made selling cars easy. Numerous platforms enable sellers to offer their vehicle with just a few clicks, but there are still some important pieces of advice to take heed of. Serious buyers will never ask for personal information directly or want to communicate outside of the sales platform. If the interested party seeks the conversation directly via email, SMS or WhatsApp, caution is advised.
“Under no circumstances should you reply with your real email address, as this will verify it as genuine for potential spammers,” warns Thorsten Urbanski.
Also read: No, the WEF does not recommend microchip implants for children!
Likewise, under no circumstances should payment by promissory note, bank transfer or partial or installment payments be accepted when selling the vehicle. Only those who hand over the full purchase price in cash will receive keys and papers! Sample contracts from platform providers or large automobile clubs should also be used. This way, sellers don’t forget anything important. The ESET experts have put together further tips on WeLiveSecurity.
The entire article “Selling cars online – How to play it safe” and other tips for selling cars can be found HERE .
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )