CL Scam - VIN request

Al323i · Post by **Al323i** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 2:31 pm

I have listed my e30 on CL and have received a number of responses each trying to get my VIN. One was actually cleaver as the ‘woman’ asked me to contact her insurance company via a link to get rates for her. Perhaps I am naïve, but what would a scammer do with a VIN?

-Al

TimCircleBMW · Post by **TimCircleBMW** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 3:37 pm

Most people that ask me for a vin when I am selling a car online is because they want to run a Carfax.

afadeev · Post by **afadeev** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 3:55 pm

TimCircleBMW wrote:Most people that ask me for a vin when I am selling a car online is because they want to run a Carfax.

What Tim said - when I sold my E46 last fall on autotrader, the VIN was part of the listing record.

Carfax searches and insurance quotes are two obvious use cases. It makes sense to share this (and much more) information about your car if you intend to sell it.

YMMV,
alex f

gfield · Post by **gfield** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 4:21 pm

You must have the VIN to get insurance. When I bought my last car I used the VIN to get both insurance for it before I actually picked up the vehicle, and I ran a carfax.

There aren't any scams I'm aware of with only a VIN. If they send you a check for greater than the amount of the vehicle and ask for the remainder back in cash, that is typically a scam.

Sincerely,
Greg Field
1997 Boston Green M3 Coupe
2003 Titanium Silver 325XI Sedan

Al323i · Post by **Al323i** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 7:11 am

I would agree if there wasn't other clues as the email being a scam. ie

1) I stated in my CL listing that the car had a clean CarFax report.
2) Email from address did not match the requested send to address
3) Multiple emails from different email addresses with EXACTLY the same text.
4) Wanting my PayPal account info
5) Saying interested in your item, not car, BMW, etc

You can tell the real buyers from the scammers, and 95% of the 'interested parties' from CL were scammers.

-Al

cfaust · Post by **cfaust** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 7:16 am

They probably just want to steal the pictures and relist your car under their own ad - having the VIN maybe makes it seem more legitimate?

dbcafy · Post by **dbcafy** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 10:33 am

Hey Al, What's CL?

In addition, what does ordering a FULL Car Fax report gives you? I'm currently looking at cars on Auto Trader. Some car from dealerships gives you a "free" car fax report. Is this complete?

Thanks,
Dave

I have an example here for a M3 in Tarrytown (need the url string) http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/ ... tner=ATD_W

Al323i · Post by **Al323i** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:00 pm

Hi Dave,

CL = Craigs List

I was unable to open your link, the message was '...try again later." I don't know what the difference is, but the Full Carfax includes number of owners, mile verification, accident report(s), MV title info (clean, salvage, etc), etc. I have used Carfax three or four times now when purchasing vehicles, and it only gives you some reassurance that what the owner is saying is correct. Note: Carfax only reports what is in public records, so let's say the car was in an accident and repaired at home, there would be no data for this. You are best served by using your eyes and common sense: Do the VIN numbers on all panels match? Look at the screw heads on the fenders, is the paint scratched off? Do the brake and clutch petals look like they have the wear for the number of miles shown?

Good luck with your purchase,
Al

RonG · Post by **RonG** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 4:44 pm

Dave's link, repaired: 2008 M3 Carfax

320iJT · Post by **320iJT** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 8:39 pm

Have them call you on the phone if they want your vin. I had the same thing with a guy who offered to buy every Johnny Pag motorcycle we had in stock. I gave him one vin number and he used it to post fake ads.

By having them call you weed out the tire kickers / scammers with the real buyers.

Al323i · Post by **Al323i** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 2:53 pm

Just an FYI - I posted my e30 on the BMWCCA.org site and the VIN was required for posting. Any one can review these ads as you do not need to log on or be a member. Now I am wondering if I should have given a dummy VIN. ???

Al

afadeev · Post by **afadeev** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:10 pm

Al323i wrote:Just an FYI - I posted my e30 on the BMWCCA.org site and the VIN was required for posting. Any one can review these ads as you do not need to log on or be a member. Now I am wondering if I should have given a dummy VIN. ???

Al

Tour VIN is exposed for all to see on all of your cars, all day long!
So, what's the downside of having your VIN copied on the internet?

Worst case proposed: some clown posts a duplicate for-sale add with your VIN and/or pics. The scammer still won’t be able to close the transaction anyway, or present your car for a test drive or the sale. Your ownership is under no more threat then it would be from having someone take your car & VIN pic while it's sitting on a public parking lot.

Is there anything real to the VIN secrecy concerns ?

alex f

P.S.: My last autotrader.com sale experience had its share of email-based scamers, though none cared to continue the conversation over the phone (good screening tool - temp google voice phone # helped).
P.P.S.: YMMV, but my car sold after ~30 days of being listed, and I had fun doing it !

New Jersey BMW CCA

CL Scam - VIN request

CL Scam - VIN request

Carfax

Re: Carfax

What does ordering a "real" carfax report gives yo