Educate Yourself About Scams

Scam Alert

Protecting yourself from the most common scams on the internet takes awareness and common sense. A lot of money changes hands in the collector car world and this makes our hobby an ideal feeding ground for unscrupulous scammers.


The key is to stay alert and learn to spot the warning signs.


99% of scams take the following form:

  • A price is too good to be true.
  • Seller or buyer expresses a sense of urgency in the communication, trying to force you to complete the transaction quickly before someone else does.
  • A buyer sends you a forged cashiers check for more than the asking or agreed amount
  • A Seller instructs buyer to wire, credit or mail a deposit or bank account info to hold the car, part or service.

Cashiers' checks are not cash. Your bank may happily deposit one and make the money available to you.  That does not mean it's a good check. Many scams will ask you to deposit the forged check and then wire them a portion of those funds. When the bank realizes the check was bogus you are still responsible for that money.
Scammers have also been using services like Google Checkout to take fake deposits.


Listen to your gut.

You know if a deal is too good to be true. Scammers count on you to ignore your gut. Don't fall for it.

Not all scammers use broken English and clumsy methods. Some of them are genuine confidence men and can seem like trustworthy people to do business with.


Protect your information.

A scammers may request account information such as routing numbers in order to (supposedly) wire funds. Do not provide any information without first checking with your financial institution.


Educate others

Don't assume everyone knows this stuff. We have all been tempted and have or have friends and family members who have fallen for various internet scams. Even if a scam seems obvious to you it may not be so obvious to other people. Talk to your kids, your parents, and your car community. Maybe you are telling everyone something they already know but maybe you are also saving someone a lot of grief and potentially pain.


These people are criminals. Do not engage with them in any way.

Scammers are the kind of unscrupulous thieves who manipulate and steal money from innocent individuals. Don't give them any information about yourself.


Unfortunately there is no surefire way for us to prevent scammers from answering your ads.

We have some of the best email filtering processes in the business but nothing is foolproof. Scammers target all websites where people buy and sell items. Use common sense and proceed with extreme caution when responding to any offers from questionable sources.
Please contact the Webmaster, Brad Balduff, if you have any questions.

CONSUMER PRECAUTIONS

 
  • VERIFY a car or parts exist prior to purchase. Ask for documentation of ownership. Inspect a vehicle or part in person, or send a representative. Request specific photos of cars and parts to include recent date. Photos of most anything are easy to find on the Internet, ask for specific photos, then ask more questions.   Ask who owned the car or part previously and contact the prior owner or try to research the car or part's history of ownership.
  • AVOID offers that:
    • Seem too good to be true,
    • Convey a sense of urgency,
    • Involve a 3rd party,
    • Involve facilitating money transfers through your account.
  • SECURE fund transfers by using an escrow service. Escrow is the safest way to transfer funds; funds are held by the bank assuring both buyer & seller they are secure. Funds are not released until buyer receives, inspects and approves merchandise.
  • NEVER disclose bank account, credit card or social security information to unsolicited callers or emails. Ask for the institution name and make an independent return call to verify legitimacy.
  • PROTECT personal information. Double check any websites before entering your user names and passwords, especially if an email prompts you to do so. Check financial statements regularly for unauthorized activity, monitor your credit report, shred documents containing personal information such as bank & credit card statements, etc.
Additional information is available at:
https://www.fraud.org/tech_scams
https://www.fraud.org/fake_check_scams
https://www.1stsource.com/security.aspx
http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html

The Horseless Carriage Club will never email you asking for your password or credit card information.

Before logging in to HCCA.org make sure hcca.org is in the address bar.

Are you the victim of a scam?

1. File a complaint with the FBI immediately.
2. Inform the website or publication where the scam originated - they may be able to shut down any other scams by this same criminal and they can work with the FBI to supply additional information about the scammer for your case.