How to avoid scams when buying a used car from a private seller

The most common trick is a fake listing. The photos look real and the price is low. Then comes a story about why you can't see the car: the seller is being deployed, moving away, or selling a car from a divorce or a relative who died. The FBI says these sellers often never had the car at all.

• They ask for a deposit to "hold" the car before you've seen it.
• They want gift cards, a wire transfer, or an app like Zelle, Venmo, or Cash App. The FTC says gift cards or a wire mean it's a scam, every time.
• They say the deal will go through a "buyer protection" program, then send you an email or phone number for it. The FBI warns that scammers falsely claim to work with real companies like eBay, then send an email with a fake toll-free number where someone pretends to be that company.
• They offer to ship the car to you. After you pay, they ask for more money for "shipping" or "transportation."
• They push you to decide fast, before you can think it through.

A curbstoner is an unlicensed dealer who poses as a private seller. They buy cars and flip them for a profit. Utah's DMV warns that buying from one raises your risk of a wrecked car, a rolled-back odometer, or a title you can't transfer. Signs you may be dealing with one:

• The same phone number shows up in other "for sale by owner" car ads.
• The seller wants cash only.
• The title isn't in the seller's name, or it was issued in just the last few months.
• The seller says they're selling it for a friend or relative.
• They claim to be a dealer but have no place of business, or they use out-of-state dealer paperwork or plates.

Title jumping is a related trick. Someone buys a car, never puts it in their own name, and resells it on the last owner's signed title with the buyer's line left blank. That's called an open title. It hides who really sold you the car and can cause problems when you try to title and register it. Some states treat it as a crime. In Georgia, for example, giving or accepting a title signed in blank is a misdemeanor.

Also ask if there's still a loan on the car. If there is, the lender has a lien (a legal claim on the car until the loan is paid). Don't pay until you know how the loan will be paid off and the lien released. Here's how to check for a lien.

Cloned VINs. Thieves copy the VIN from a legally owned car of the same make and model, make a fake VIN tag and fake ownership papers, and put them on a stolen car. A VIN check won't catch it. The copied VIN belongs to a real car that was never stolen, so it comes back clean, and the fake papers show the same number. NICB warns that if the switch is found, the car is taken and returned to its real owner or insurer. You lose the car and the money you paid. In October 2024, New York's DMV said 149 of the 228 stolen cars it had recovered so far that year were bought by people who found them on Facebook Marketplace or similar sites.

NICB's advice for avoiding a cloned car:

• Check the VIN with your state's motor vehicle agency, and run a title search.
• Be extra careful with a car only a few years old that has no lender (lienholder) listed. Newer cars are often still being paid off, so look closely at who has owned it. (A listed lender raises a different issue: the loan has to be paid off first. See how to check for a lien.)
• If you can, ask your insurance company to inspect the car before you buy.
• Have the title and VIN checked by authorities before you put down any money.

Mileage and water damage. NHTSA estimates more than 450,000 cars a year are sold with false odometer readings, and some flooded cars are dried out, cleaned up, and moved to another state to be sold. Learn the signs of a rolled-back odometer and a flood-damaged car.

1. Check out the seller first. Search their name and phone number online with words like "scam" or "complaint," and do a reverse image search on the ad photos. If the same photos show up in ads in other cities, the listing is probably fake. Be suspicious of a brand-new profile with no ratings or history.
2. Ask for the VIN, the license plate, and the name of the person the car is registered to. Run the VIN in the VIN check above and in NICB's free VINCheck, which shows cars reported stolen and not recovered, or reported as salvage or flood-damaged, by participating insurers. NICB says VINCheck is not a complete vehicle history and doesn't search police records.
3. Meet in daylight in a busy public place, and bring someone with you. NICB suggests a police station, and some areas have marked safe-exchange spots for online sales. Don't carry a lot of cash. New York police have warned about robberies of both buyers and sellers in online car sales.
4. Match the 17-character VIN on the dashboard, the driver's door label, the title, and the registration. Walk away if any differ or the VIN plate looks tampered with. Matching VINs don't rule out a cloned car, so if the title is only a few months old or anything else seems off, have police or your state's motor vehicle agency check the title and VIN before you pay.
5. Check the seller's photo ID against the name on the title. Make sure they have the title with them (unless a lender holds it; see the loan step below) and look for words like "salvage" or "rebuilt" printed on it.
6. Get an independent inspection at a shop you choose. If the seller refuses, walk away.
7. If there's a loan on the car, agree with the seller and the lender on how the payoff and lien release will work before any money moves.
8. Pay at your bank with a cashier's check made out to the person named on the title. If there's still a loan, pay the payoff the way you agreed with the lender. Doing the deal at your bank lets the seller see the check is real. NICB tells sellers to meet at the buyer's bank so the bank can verify the funds in person.
9. Sign the title and bill of sale your state requires, and transfer the title on time. Rules and deadlines vary by state, so check with your state's motor vehicle agency. Our private-seller guide walks through every step.

Act fast. Contact whoever moved the money and ask them to reverse it: the gift card company (use the number on the back of the card), the wire transfer company, the payment app, or your bank. The FTC has steps for each way you paid.

Then report the scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the FBI at ic3.gov. Report the listing and the seller's profile to Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or wherever the ad ran, too, so it can be taken down before someone else pays. Keep every ad, message, receipt, and payment record. If you think you bought a stolen or cloned car, contact your local police and NICB at 800-TEL-NICB (800-835-6422).