Safety Tips
AutoTrader is a local marketplace that connects vehicle buyers and sellers but does not get involved in the transactions that may take place.
Most AutoTrader consumers have positive experiences, but sometimes we do receive reports of fraudulent activity. AutoTrader does not assess all buyers and sellers who use the site. The best way to avoid fraud is to ensure that your transaction takes place locally, publicly and in person. It is important for buyers and sellers to trust their instincts and remember that if a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is.
Please review these safety tips to help you on your vehicle buying or selling journey.
Seller Tips:
When you create your AutoTrader ad be sure to write a detailed, honest description outlining any known issues with your vehicle. Use our pricing tool to help determine the fair market price of your vehicle. Add even more detail by uploading up to 15 high-quality photos of the interior and exterior of your vehicle.
More details = less questions from potential buyers = a faster sale.
After you post your ad, confirm your email address and within a few hours your ad will be live on our marketplace, ready to receive leads.
Avoiding fraud as a seller:
Always trust your instincts when interacting with a potential buyer.
AutoTrader not only masks your email address but has other protections in place to help safeguard you as the vehicle seller. These protections don’t always work, so it is important to know how to spot a fraudulent buyer.
Taking the conversation off AutoTrader:
Fraudsters will only want to connect over email or text. They usually won’t accept phone calls. Whenever someone refuses to speak with you over the phone, be careful.
To avoid getting caught, fraudsters will reply to your ad and ask you to send an email or a text message directly to them. They will try to take the conversation off AutoTrader and avoid our protections.
Here is how fraudsters may try to take the conversation off AutoTrader:
The request may be from a consumer who prefers to speak via text or directly through their email address but should be taken as a warning sign of a possible fraudulent buyer.
Fraudulent Distant Buyers:
On AutoTrader, your ad can be searched Canada-wide, which means someone far away may be interested in buying your vehicle. Be careful when pursuing any non-local transactions.
Fraudulent distant buyers will:
- Offer to purchase the vehicle without negotiating the price, without requesting an inspection by a mechanic or reviewing the CARFAX report.
- Offer intimate, personal details like a full mailing address, job title, health conditions, etc. without being asked.
- Provide elaborate stories explaining why they can’t complete the transaction in person. The message may look something like this:
- Offer to over-pay for the vehicle (including inflated shipping costs) via cheque without seeing it the vehicle.
- The cheque will arrive, but despite how real it looks, it will be counterfeit and the bank will not process it.
- Send fraudulent electronic payment notifications/receipts. Sellers should contact the payment service provider directly to confirm the legitimacy of the request/receipt.
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Propose the use of an escrow service to complete the distant transaction.
- We recommend researching the escrow company, determining their service location, reading reviews on the company, assessing its legitimacy and deciding if the service is legitimate.
- AutoTrader does not have a partnership with any escrow services to complete transactions. Even if the escrow company utilizes the AutoTrader logo, do not move forward with the transaction.
How to report a buyer:
When you receive a lead, you will see the following below the buyer’s message:
Click on “contact us" in the lead, include the details of the communication and we will investigate. Alternatively, click here, provide the details and we will investigate your report.
By reporting fraudulent leads to us, AutoTrader can investigate, take the appropriate action and better protect our community.
If you believe you have been scammed, start by
clicking here to contact us so that we can investigate the account and act on it accordingly. Next, report the incident to your local police department and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. AutoTrader will help law enforcement agencies with their investigations.
When contacting your local police department or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre please ensure you have the following information available: the ad id associated with the report (this can be viewed within the URL while viewing the ad), copies/screenshots of any email/text communication and the contact details of the suspected fraudster.
Completing the sale of your vehicle face to face is always the best way to avoid fraud.
Fake vehicle history checks:
AutoTrader maintains a partnership with a trusted vehicle history reporting company called CARFAX. You can purchase a CARFAX report directly through AutoTrader when you post your ad.
Some AutoTrader sellers have reported receiving requests to buy fake vehicle history checks.
Typically, here’s what happens:
Fraudsters can’t meet with you face-to-face, so they use this as an excuse to pressure you into buying a vehicle history report from a company you have never heard of and send you a strange URL.
This will usually happen over text message. When you question the unknown company fraudsters will respond with comments like:
This vehicle history report will defraud you in two ways:
- Money will be deducted from your credit card and not refunded.
- The credit card number and personal details provided will be stolen.
- Do not click on the suspicious URL.
- Do not purchase the fake vehicle history report.
- Stop all communication with the buyer.
- Click here to contact AutoTrader and we will investigate.
AutoTrader only encourages purchasing CARFAX vehicle history reports.
Test drive safety tips:
You’ve found your buyer! Now it’s time to arrange an in-person meeting. Here are some tips to stay safe during the meet-up and test drive:
- Evaluate the potential buyer:
- Speak to your buyer over the phone. Emails can be anonymous and it’s easier to track someone down through a cell phone number if it’s needed later.
- Research the buyer before meeting by asking them to text you a picture of their driver’s license.
- Decide on meet-up location:
- If the vehicle can be moved, don’t meet at your home address. Meet in a public location with lots of light, security cameras and other people around. Police stations, malls, restaurant parking lots are usually good choices and provide all the above.
- Listen to your instincts:
- When you arrive, if the buyer is acting suspicious, stop the transaction and leave the location.
- Test drive expectations:
- Inspect their driver’s license (does the photo match the buyer?) and send a photo of it to a friend/family member.
- Confirm that the buyer is insured to test drive your vehicle.
- If you decide to go on the test drive with the buyer, it is important to bring your cell phone with you. Ask a friend or family member to keep track of your location and stay in communication with you during the test drive.
- If you feel more comfortable, bring a friend or family member with you to the meet-up and test drive.
Buyer Tips:
When beginning your vehicle buying journey, start by doing your homework. What is fair market price for the vehicle you have chosen? What is your budget? What year/colour/trim are you interested in? Use AutoTrader’s search filters and pricing tool to help answer these questions and find the perfect vehicle.
Before you reply, read these tips.
Avoiding fraud as a buyer:
Price is too good to be true:
When you see your desired make and model with a price significantly below market value, be careful. A deal that seems too good to be true usually is. A price significantly below market value may indicate fraud or it could imply major issues with the vehicle not being disclosed.
It is always recommended to inspect the vehicle thoroughly in person before committing to a purchase or paying for a vehicle.
Taking the conversation off AutoTrader:
Fraudsters are usually only available via email or text. They avoid phone calls. Be careful whenever a seller refuses to speak with you over the phone.
Fraudsters know their ad will not be live on AutoTrader for long. They will request that you send an email or text message directly to their personal email address or phone number to avoid interference with their scam attempt. They will sometimes include contact details on their images or within their ad description.
They will say things like:
This may be genuine, but should be taken as a warning sign of a potentially fraudulent seller.
Fraudulent distant seller:
You can search Canada wide on AutoTrader and you may be interested in a vehicle at a distant location but be careful when working out the details of these transactions. Do your research and trust your instincts.
Fraudulent distant sellers will:
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Pressure you to purchase the vehicle without inspecting it in person or allowing a local mechanic to perform an inspection on your behalf.
- They may offer you additional photos in place of an in-person inspection.
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Say that they trust you with a partial payment and that you must send the money before they ship the vehicle to you.
- The payment will be taken and the vehicle never shipped.
- Say they have already shipped the vehicle and will pressure you to send them the necessary money.
- Request payment through MoneyGram, Western Union, PayPal Family and Friends or Vanilla prepaid Visa/Mastercard.
Fraudulent third-party companies:
AutoTrader does not have a partnership with any third-party sites to complete the sale of a vehicle for you. Be careful anytime a seller requests the use of a third-party company to complete a transaction. These fraudsters will even misuse the AutoTrader logo to gain your confidence.
The fraudster will start by requesting your personal email address (and take the conversation off AutoTrader) and then send you an email like the following:
- "Hello, I believe you heard of ABC Corporation if you buy and sell online often, if you don't, I must tell you that this company offers a return policy and you have the right to return the Vehicle at any time. If you are interested, I will need the following details from you: full name, delivery address, then ABC Corporation will send you an invoice with all the info you will need to complete the transaction."
Next, you’ll be instructed to wire money to a foreign bank account or to pay for the vehicle via Vanilla Prepaid Visas/Mastercards. The vehicle will never arrive.
If you encounter a fraudulent third-party site like this, stop and block all communications with the seller immediately, report the ad and contact AutoTrader with the details so we can investigate.
How to report a seller:
By reporting fraudulent ads or leads to us, AutoTrader can investigate, take the appropriate action and better protect our community.
If you believe you have been scammed, start by clicking here to contact us so that we can act on it accordingly. Next, report the incident to your local police department and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. AutoTrader will help law enforcement agencies with their investigations.
When contacting your local police department or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre please ensure you have the following information available: the ad id associated with the report (this can be viewed within the URL while viewing the ad), copies/screenshots of any email/text communication and the contact details of the suspected fraudster.
Completing the purchase of your vehicle face-to-face is always the best way to avoid fraud. Trust your instincts!
Vehicle history checks:
CARFAX reports not only help to determine if the vehicle has been in an accident, but if the vehicle has any outstanding loans. If the vehicle you buy has an outstanding loan, once ownership is transferred, you will have to pay that loan back, whether you were aware of it or not.
Fraudulent sellers may request that you purchase a vehicle history check from a company you have never heard of.
This fake vehicle history report will defraud you in two ways:
- Money will be deducted from your credit card and not refunded.
- The credit card number and personal details will be stolen.
- Plus, you will not receive a vehicle history check.
If you believe you have been scammed, start by clicking here to contact us so that we can investigate the account and act on it accordingly. Next, report the incident to your local police department and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
AutoTrader will help law enforcement agencies with their investigations.
Test drive safety tips:
Here are some tips to stay safe during the meet-up and test drive:
-
Evaluate the potential seller:
- Speak to the seller over the phone. Emails can be anonymous and it’s easier to track someone down through a cell phone number if it’s required in the future.
-
Decide on meet-up location:
- Meet in a public location with lots of light, security cameras and other people around. Police stations, malls, restaurant parking lots are usually good choices and provide all the above.
-
Listen to your instincts:
- When you arrive, if the seller is acting suspicious, stop the transaction and leave the location.
-
Test drive expectations:
- Confirm that you are insured to test drive the vehicle.
- Bring your cell phone with you and have a friend/family member track your location and stay in communication with you while you complete the test drive.
- Speak with a mechanic and ask for advice on what to look for when test driving a used vehicle.
- Keep the radio off while test driving to pay attention to any of the warning signs your mechanic has provided.
- Do not travel with large amounts of cash to the test drive.
- If the test drive goes well and you would like to buy the vehicle, discuss payment methods with the seller. Depending on the cost of the vehicle, Interac Email Money Transfers or bank drafts could be realistic options.
- Assess the situation and decide what works best for you.
What is phishing?:
Phishing is a common online scam where the fraudster pretends to be from a real company to trick you into giving your personal or financial information to either steal your identity or your money.
How does phishing work?:
- You get an email that claims to be from AutoTrader. The email will use a false or fake reason to encourage you to provide information. For example: 'we need to verify your credit card' or 'we need to confirm your details'.
- The email encourages you to click on a link that takes you to a fake website, designed to look like AutoTrader.ca.
- This fake site will ask you for personal information such as credit card numbers, account numbers, passwords, date of birth, driver's license number and social insurance numbers.
- You may think you are giving your information to us, but you are providing it to a fraudster.
How to spot phishing?:
- The email will normally include bad grammar and offer no details as to why your information needs to be verified.
- The site it links to may have an unusual address in the URL bar, which may show http:// instead of https://
- Authentic AutoTrader’s URLs:
- sellmycar.autotrader.ca, sell.autotrader.ca, www.autotrader.ca, wwwa.autotrader.ca, wwwb.autotrader.ca
- Authentic URLs will be secured by SSL using a certificate issued to Trader Corporation which you can see from the lock icon shown below (this varies from browser to browser):
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- Fake sites will have something similar but not quite the same as shown above, for example
www.auto-trader.example.org
autotrader.example.com
example.com & example.org are domain names reserved for use in examples.
How to report phishing?:
- If you receive an email which you suspect may be phishing, do not click any links or enter any details. Instead, please click here to contact AutoTrader and we will investigate if the email is genuinely from us or not.
Phone Number Masking Test:
AutoTrader is running an enhanced Protection Plan test where randomly selected listings that include a phone number for contact will have their phone number masked.
Why are you masking my phone number?
- Phone number masking helps safeguard your privacy and personal information. It reduces the risk of unwanted calls, spam, or potential misuse of your phone number.
How does phone number masking work?
- After you add your phone number and verify it, the system generates a temporary or "masked" phone number for you. This masked number serves as a shield for your real phone number, keeping it hidden from the person you're communicating with.
- You can still receive incoming calls and messages through the masked number. The system routes these communications to your real phone number while keeping your actual contact information hidden.
How long does the masked phone number last?
- The masked phone number will remain attached to your phone number for the duration of your listing (60 days) or until you delete your ad. If you sell your vehicle and delete your ad prior to its expiration the masked phone number will remain active for 7 days to ensure you can complete your transaction successfully.
Why is my area code different?
- Sometimes our masked phone number pool doesn't have your exact area code available, however, we will always do our best to mask your phone number with the closest available area code.