A North Carolina man wired $77,300 to buy a Lexus GX 550. The vehicle never arrived.
According to a complaint first reported by Automotive News, he spent about 10 days exchanging messages, photos and documents with someone posing as a representative of T&T Vehicle Sales. The used-car dealership was real, but it had nothing to do with the transaction. After the money was sent, the supposed seller disappeared. The Federal Trade Commission says other car buyers have been caught in similar scams. In a Sept. 1 consumer alert, the agency warned that criminals are cloning dealership websites and collecting upfront payments for vehicles they don’t have.
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These sites can be convincing enough that buyers don’t realize anything is wrong until they contact the real dealership. By then, they may have already wired the money. Before paying for a vehicle you found online, verify the dealership, confirm that it has the car and check where your money is going.
How scammers clone real dealerships
Buyers can end up on these fake sites through search results or social media ads and assume they belong to the dealerships named on the page. The FTC says scammers may use AI to clone dealership websites, copying logos, vehicle listings and photos. Some sites include fake customer testimonials, detailed buying instructions and flexible return policies.
Rare cars also make good bait, according to the FTC. Collectors are accustomed to shopping across state lines, and they may be willing to act quickly when a hard-to-find model comes up for sale.
Verify the dealership independently
Don’t use the phone number on the website you’re checking. If the site is fake, the person who answers may be part of the scam.
Find the dealership through a separate source. Check the vehicle manufacturer’s dealer directory for a franchised dealership or contact the state agency that licenses auto dealers. USA.gov has links to each state’s motor vehicle agency. Call the number listed there and ask whether the salesperson works for the dealership and whether the car is in stock. Confirm the price while you’re at it. If you plan to buy, ask whose name should appear on the payment instructions.
Then search the dealership’s name along with “scam” or “complaint.” Run separate searches for the seller’s phone number, email address and website. Complaints about an impersonator may not appear in a search for the dealership alone.
ICANN’s lookup tool can tell you when a domain was registered. A new web address tied to a dealership that has supposedly been in business for decades is a red flag. Watch for misspellings, extra hyphens and other small differences between the address you were given and the dealership’s real site.
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Make sure the car is there
The safest way to proceed is to see the car in person, if you can. Go to the dealership and see the car. If it’s too far away, hire a mobile inspection service that you choose yourself. A seller who won’t allow an independent inspection isn’t worth the risk. Walk away. Get the vehicle identification number and check it with NHTSA’s VIN decoder. The decoder can show whether the VIN matches the advertised make, model and year.
What it cannot tell you is whether the seller has the car. A scammer can copy a valid VIN from another listing just as easily as a photograph. Before spending serious money, consider ordering a report from a provider approved through the Justice Department’s National Motor Vehicle Title Information System. Depending on the available records, the report may reveal title problems, odometer discrepancies or salvage history.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau’s VINCheck is free and checks records from participating insurers for vehicles reported stolen but not recovered or reported as salvage or flood-damaged. It is not a complete history report, and a clean result still doesn’t prove the seller has the car.
Be wary of wire instructions
Walk away if the seller says an upfront wire transfer is the only way to pay.
The FTC says scammers favor payment methods that make recovering the money difficult. Consumers reported more than $4 billion in scam losses paid through bank transfers and cryptocurrency in 2025. Be suspicious if the seller rushes you, changes the payment instructions or asks you to send money to a person or company that does not match the dealership’s name. If the price seems too good to be true, don’t let the fear of losing the deal rush you into paying. Call the dealership at the independently verified number before sending money. Confirm the price, the vehicle and the name on the receiving bank account. Read the wire instructions back over the phone.
If you’ve already sent the money
Call your bank, credit union or wire-transfer service immediately. Say that you were defrauded and ask whether the transfer can be stopped or recalled. There is no guarantee you’ll get the money back, but the sooner you report the fraud, the better your chances. Save copies of the listing, website, messages, photographs, documents, wire instructions and receipts. Report the fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and contact local law enforcement.
If you provided a Social Security number, driver’s license, bank information or other sensitive records, go to IdentityTheft.gov and follow its recovery steps.
