VIN Report Scam Alert

[Triple Jim]

I'm trying to sell a Hyosung GV650 (Korean cruiser) for a friend. This morning I got an email through Craigslist, asking me to run a vehicle history report because it was a long drive and the guy really wanted to be sure the title was OK. He asked me to go to vinjunction.us, buy a report, send it to him, and he'd pay me back Tuesday when he came to look at the bike. I needed to go to that site specifically, because his mechanic recommended it.

A little searching turned up that vinjunction.us is registered in Serbia, and that there's a current scam going on exactly like this. If I go to that site, and there are probably others like it, and enter my credit card information to pay for a vehicle history report, a guy in Serbia gets my credit card information.

[Caffeineo]

I got the same reply but they sent their affiliate link. Thought they were doing it for the affiliate $$$. They (I am guessing) flagged my CL post about the VIN check scam.
Just got an inquiry for a bike that seems kind of scammy. Going to follow it through to waste their time. Hoping to get a souvenir cashiers check for well above my asking price. 

[Triple Jim]

Update:  I found out some more about the scam here:  http://scam-detector.com/auto-scams/car-history-report-scam

It's not as bad as I thought.  That is, they're not trying to get my credit card number.  Instead, vinjunction.us is just a redirect site.  Going there takes me to vinjunction.com, which apparently really does give vehicle history reports.  The scam is that by using vinjunction.us, the guy who emailed me gets a commision for sending business to the vinjunction.com.  Once he finds out I got the report, he'll back out of the deal, since he got his couple bucks.

[bigbikerrick]

Man, Its getting crazy out there! I cant believe some of the scams people come up with,
Rick.

[Tom]

Reply to the "prospective buyer" that you want his full name, phone number and email address for reference.  You won't get a reply.  There is no need for a seller of a vehicle to verify VIN to a buyer.  A valid title is all that's needed.  Don't deal with them.

I currently have a Craigslist ad for a rental.  "Reply with full name, phone number and email address.  A background check will be made."  I get no scams.

[Yeahoo Whoyah]

There is no need for a seller of a vehicle to verify VIN to a buyer.  A valid title is all that's needed.  Don't deal with them.

I respectively disagree. When sellers provide the VIN it allows proespective buyers, at their expense, to obtain a vehicle history report.  These reports provide good information such as accidents, dealer maintenance, recalls, etc.

[rodekyll]

These Carfax-type reporting centers are a scam.  They only work if the current owner subscribes to it (other than public recond), so only those cars and only the things reported by the owners make it there.  If you were an owner and knew you had water damage, would you voluntarily report it to Carfax?  The reporting agencies (through marketing and contacts with potential buyers of the information) try to make it seem as though there is something 'not right' about any VIN not in their system.  They IMPLY that this information is required from registered owners, and if they're not keeping their records current with the agency, there's something sinister about them.

I tried to use Carfax for the Isuzu truck I just bought.  It was a hard sell to get me to subscribe, and then she finally admitted that they could very well not have anything on the VIN I was interested in, even though I had to pay up front to find out.  If there wasn't, she said, then "that tells you something about the car and the seller, right there."

I couldn't wait to hang up.  I don't think a hard sell by innuendo is an honorable way to do business.

[Tom]

I respectively disagree. When sellers provide the VIN it allows proespective buyers, at their expense, to obtain a vehicle history report.  These reports provide good information such as accidents, dealer maintenance, recalls, etc.

So if I don't provide the VIN and/or info to a website and I'm selling a bike.  How does that work?  You as a buyer don't want to buy a bike from me and that's okay because I'll sell it to someone else.  This isn't the Soviet Union under Communism.  It would only work if it was required by law.

[LaMojo]

These Carfax-type reporting centers are a scam......

Yep.  I ran Carfax on my own vehicles and they all came back clean even though one was involved in a near total wreck.  A couple of others had dealer repairs.  A waste of money.

[Tom]

It's just a internet way to make money off of people that sell vehicles.  Remember before the internet.     It's a tool and like other tools if used correctly, they help.  They shouldn't be to hinder a sale.