LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — If you've been looking online to buy a new car, there's a growing scam that you should be aware of so you don't get taken advantage of.
The Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) has been trying to spread the word so that fewer people end up with a stolen car that puts them out of thousands of dollars.
We often hear the saying "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."
Well, Scott Hardin with the DFA said that's something Arkansans need to remember as online car scams are growing.
"This has been something we've been aware of for about a year, but we put a warning out because it's really been picking up over the last month or two," Hardin explained.
He said scammers have been selling stolen vehicles on websites like Facebook and Craigslist at a price that is much lower than the actual value of the car and strictly asking for cash.
"This is something we are seeing taking place a lot. And unfortunately, Arkansans are losing a lot of money," Hardin added.
The person behind the scam replaces the stolen car's VIN number with one from a similar model found online, so when people research the car's history, they can't tell it is stolen.
"Unfortunately, you find out eventually that this car is stolen, that it was a fake VIN, and you're out all that money. There aren't any options at that point," he explained.
He also said it has been happening mostly with newer model pickup trucks and so far his office has seen about 50 of those cases.
This situation has used car dealers like Rashaun Wilburd on high alert. That's why he said he triple-checks every vehicle's VIN before adding it to his inventory.
"What we do is we hook a scanner OBD2 tool because the VIN is stored at least on 30 or 40 different modules on the car. And so that's hard to you know, duplicate," Wilburd said.
He and Hardin both encourage people to get a second opinion before handing over thousands of dollars.
"The two things that DFA wants to get across is one, use caution and two, If it's being sold cash only for 30,40 50% less than it is elsewhere, there's a reason for that," Hardin added.
Also, people should think twice before paying all cash.
"That's a big red flag," Wilburd said.
Once someone falls for the scam and learns that the car they just bought is stolen, the car then gets turned over to the actual owner, or their insurance company.