WHAT you should know about SCAMS

If your not already aware, scam enquiries may be sent to you via email or SMS if you have listed your mobile phone number so it’s important to keep in mind the below information. This goes for all website listings including Gumtree and Carsales etc.

*IGNORE SMS MESSAGES THAT WANT YOU TO EMAIL BACK ONLY, IT COULD BE A FRAUD ATTEMPT.

• Be wary of overseas buyers offering to pay via PayPal.
• Be wary of buyers offering you above and beyond your asking price.
• Never money overseas via Western Union.
• Always ask speak to the buyer directly.
• Never provide personal details like your credit card information or tax file number to an enquiry.
• Be wary of generic enquiries that don’t seem to be related to your vehicle.
• Be wary of enquiries that have broken English or a non Australian contact number.
• Never click on links in an enquiry email or SMS.

The messages may have a name in the title or may be from an overseas phone number. Some will even look like a local number with a +614 area code; these are sent via online SMS service providers like ‘SMS craze’. These scammers want to communicate with you over email so they can open up their word document and Google translator to copy and paste their pre-prepared scripts. Coffs Car Market is designed for local, face-to-face trading. We encourage our community to follow the following guidelines;

• Always meet in person
• Never send money to anyone you don’t know
• And if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
• If you have any questions or need clarification simply “contact us” and we can help with any questions you might have.

If in doubt – ask us for help.

More detailed information on SCAMS, how to recognise it and how to protect yourself is available from www.scamwatch.gov.au