Stay Safe: Keep your conversations in carsales
When it comes to buying or selling a car, we recommend to keeping your conversations within carsales.
Scammers may try to move conversations to email, SMS or other messaging apps where they can’t be monitored — this is one of the more common warning signs of a scam.
By keeping your chats and calls within carsales, you’re helping to protect yourself, your money, and your personal information.
Why keeping communications in carsales matters
When you stay within the carsales messaging system, you’re protected by built-in safety measures designed to detect and help prevent scams.
- Protect your privacy: Your personal phone number will only be displayed if you opt to have it shown. We will never display your email address.
- Safer calls through the app: Make and receive calls without sharing your phone number. You’ll always see who’s calling and which car they’re calling about before you pick up.
- Keep scammers out: Our systems help filter suspicious users and reduce the risk of scam messages being sent to you.
- A clear record of communication: Having all your messages and call history in one place helps makes it easier to review and report anything that seems suspicious.
- Support when you need it: If you’re ever unsure about a message or call, our customer service team can review the conversation and provide guidance.
You can contact them on customercare@carsales.com.au or call on 13 72 53.
Common scam tactics to watch out for
Whether you’re buying or selling, be cautious when:
- The person refuses to speak on the phone or meet in person.
- They try to move the chat to email rather than keeping it in carsales.
- They ask for upfront money for freight, inspection or holding fees.
- The deal seems too good to be true, or the other party accepts your offer unusually fast.
- They become pushy, use legal threats, or pressure you to act quickly.
If any of this sounds familiar, we recommend pausing, and contacting our customer support team for more advice.
If you receive a suspicious message or call
If someone’s behaviour doesn’t feel right, or you think you may be dealing with a scammer:
- Stay within carsales. Switching to another platform makes it difficult for us to police.
- Don’t click any hyperlinks or scan QR codes that have been sent via email or SMS, even if it appears to come from carsales
- Don’t share personal or financial information unless you’re using carsales payments (which is within the carsales website/app user experience)
- Report the message by contacting our customer service team — include screenshots where possible so we can investigate quickly.
- If in doubt, call us on 13 72 53. We’ve got your back!
Safe ways to complete your transaction
When you’re ready to finalise your deal, take your safety a step further by using carsales payment service
This feature help to protect and simplify car buying and selling with safer transactions — no bank delays or large cash deals and users are ID verified.
- With ID document verification and secure fund transfers upon mutual agreement, you can worry less about scammers and focus on the deal.
- Simplify your car deals by bypassing bank transfer limits, access funds directly, and get a payment confirmation — all from your phone.
It’s easy. Agree on a price, add and release funds directly from your carsales account, and manage the deal with confidence.
Watch how pay through carsales works
Reporting suspicious activity
If you believe you’ve encountered a scammer or received a suspicious message:
- Contact our customer service team and provide screenshots or details of the communication.
- We’ll investigate and advise whether the message is legitimate.
You can also report scams to the following Australian Government authorities:
- ACCC (Scamwatch): www.scamwatch.gov.au or call 1300 302 502
- ReportCyber: www.cyber.gov.au/report
- Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC): Sign up for their Alert Service for updates on current scams.
Remember
Genuine buyers and sellers won't feel the need to move the chat elsewhere.
Keep your messages and calls within carsales — it’s your safer and simpler way to buy and sell with confidence.
Any information on this page is provided as a guide only. It is not professional or expert advice and is not a substitute for such advice. The content may not be appropriate, correct or sufficient for your circumstances and should not be relied on as the only reason you do or don’t do anything.