Vehicle History Report Scam

We have been alerted to a scam targeting private car sellers.

In this scenario, the scammer poses as a buyer and asks the seller to purchase a vehicle history report from a specific third-party website. If the seller complies, the scammer obtains the funds through the third-party site, but often no legitimate vehicle history report is supplied.

If you are selling a car, please be wary of any buyer asking you to purchase a vehicle history report from a nominated site. Some sellers choose to include a car history report on their listing, but it is not common practice for a seller to purchase a vehicle history report on a buyer’s behalf. This is usually done directly by the buyer as part of their due diligence when purchasing a car.

There are legitimate sites where you can purchase a vehicle history report, which include carsales and other services. To find out more about our service click here .

If you receive a message that you think is suspicious, you can contact us via email or call us to review the communication for you. Or, if you think you have received a scam message, you can report it to us in the messaging function of your account.

Click here to learn more on how you can protect yourself online. If you think you have seen a scam or have been scammed you can also contact the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission:

• by phone on 1300 302 502; or

• by completing an online report at https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam.

You can also report online fraud to the Australian Government via https://www.cyber.gov.au/report-and-recover/report

We also recommend that you sign up for the ACSC Alert Service at https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/register.