10,000 stolen while trying to buy a car
A young woman has been scammed out of almost €10,000 following the purchase of a used car on Leboncoin. The money was paid via a crypto-currency application. As a result, she lost all her savings, as well as the car of her dreams, which she could already see herself in... but which, in the end, she never saw.
A €10,000 scam
The 21-year-old has been through a nightmare. She saved for many years in the hope of one day being able to buy the car of her dreams. Over the years and during her studies, she has put together a sum of around 10,000 euros to achieve this goal. So she started looking for her ideal car on the classified ads websites. A second-hand car that was still within her budget.
After a great deal of research, the young woman contacted someone on Leboncoin who referred her to the website of a car broker. As a reminder, a car agent is a specialist in vehicle sales. The agent acts as an intermediary between the customer and the seller. In this case, the seller is the person putting their car up for sale, and the customer is the 21-year-old woman. The agent in question signs a contract stipulating that he has an obligation to provide commercial advice. The agent must then use the customer's criteria to find the best possible car for him or her, whether new or used, depending on demand. Once the car has been found, he must negotiate the best price for his customer, using his network.
The well-hidden scam
So the 21-year-old went to the website of the automobile agent - unmandataire.fr. When she got to the site, it seemed completely professional. At no point did she think it was an amateur site, since it had a good presentation and an aesthetic that gave her confidence in her approach. What's more, a sales representative from the company in question got back to her straight away, confirming that she had no reason to be suspicious. The salesman (the agent) made her an offer for a car he had found for her. It was a Mini-Cooper priced at 9,000 euros. The young woman did not respond immediately. She took her time to think it over and finally accepted the agent's offer. She then paid the advertised sum via a crypto-currency application, at the request of the salesman.
What's more, the bank where the young woman was staying gave its consent for her to make the transfer to the crypto-currency app. In theory, this should have been a real guarantee. In reality, however, the transfer should have appeared on the app but not been paid to the lemandataire.fr website until after the young woman had received the mini-cooper at the planned delivery address. This is how things were presented to her by the sales representative. After a long wait for her car to arrive, the 21 year old never got to see it. Of course, she tried everything she could to contact the site in question, but of course they never followed up.
Other victims of a similar scam
Similar incidents have been reported by another person, based in Avignon, who claims to have been the victim of a similar scam. But this time it was international in scope. A sales representative also contacted the victim with a prepaid card that had apparently been purchased in Spain. The person, like the 21-year-old, paid his money via a crypto-currency application at the request of unmandataire.fr. This paid sum was allegedly withdrawn in Lithuania.
The person who was scammed in the same way as the person who was scammed in the previous case has been doing her utmost to report the lemandataire.fr website for several months now. An investigation, which is still underway, has been entrusted to the fraud and investigation unit of the Loiret DDSP.
Beware of internet scams
Internet scams continue to evolve and can vary considerably. Cybercriminals use the Internet as a tool to scam unsuspecting victims, usually for financial gain. Many successful Internet scams have similar ends: victims lose their own money or do not receive the funds promised by the fraudster. So be wary when you visit ad sites. Even if these sites have a large community (such as Leboncoin) and you feel you can trust them, you can still be scammed.
Even if the person in front of you suggests using crypto-currency applications, simply run away. If you don't think it's a scam, just suggest a secure payment solution. There is a 100% secure payment method specially designed for this type of transaction between individuals called Obvy. This payment solution makes it possible to secure your purchases on classified ad sites such as Leboncoin, Facebook, Vinted and many others. What's more, you won't be able to commit fraud, since all the information about the seller at the time of the transaction is verified and fully traceable in the event of any problems. Another advantage is that you can track your parcel and secure delivery in real time.