Discussion
Hi Guys
I want to send a warning message to all members and potential car buyers, about using the piston heads website when buying cars.
Over the weekend of 19/20th July 2014 I came across an advert for a 2009 Alfa 159 1.9 JTDm Limited Edition for £4200. I initially thought there was a mistake due to the low price, but also thinking I had lucked out so I followed up.
Following the exchange of a few emails with the seller directly a process was started whereby i was requested by what looked like authentic piston heads email chain, (authentic looking banners etc) to deposit the money into an escrow account owned by piston heads, who would hold the money on behalf of the seller. The seller claimed to want a quick sale in order to work abroad and that piston heads would handle the sale.
The process was that Piston heads would send me the car for me to review within 48hrs following receipt of my monies into their third party account, after which time I could keep it, they would then send the money on to the seller, or if i changed my mind within this time I could send it back and have my money returned to me. This sounded ok and I felt confident that the process was legitimate. Suspicions were raised when I tried to get an update from piston heads themselves as to whether they had received my latest email regarding delivery of the car.
I called the website and they informed me that its likely that I have been the subject of online fraud. They told me they are well aware of the scam (amongst others) and that they have a fraud warning on each advert. Looking back, I admit my mistake was not doing what I normally do before parting with good money to buy a car, and that is to see it and inspect it personally before parting with funds. I guess my enthusiasm for a 'good deal' got the better of me.
My warning to you is that piston heads have known about this sort of thing for some time now (at least 5 or 6 years) and despite having put a warning on each classified ad, I missed this 'fraud warning link', I believe it is easy to miss. They also believe the scammers access their email system/website to continually carry out this scam.
After begin scammed I strongly suggested to piston heads to put the warning as a link on their home page under 'Resources or Classifieds' for example, so that it is more easily accessible and can give people clear warning and advice about car buying over the internet.
My guess why they don't want to do this is so that they don't want to scare off potential visitors and give the wrong impression of their site. I'm as angry with piston heads as I am with the scammers (and myself to be honest). For PH they have known about this for a number of years and seem to do the bare minimum to counter it in terms of their system security and easily accessible fraud warnings.
Having looked into this further, I'm not the only one to have been caught out. So please be aware when buying from piston heads (and it appears auto trader, ebay, and other sites) that you could be scammed. Piston heads don't seem to want to put in the necessary security or safeguards to assist people to avoid being scammed and conduct a sensible buying procedure. So BUYER BEWARE !!!!
Thanks
SlideyJoe
I want to send a warning message to all members and potential car buyers, about using the piston heads website when buying cars.
Over the weekend of 19/20th July 2014 I came across an advert for a 2009 Alfa 159 1.9 JTDm Limited Edition for £4200. I initially thought there was a mistake due to the low price, but also thinking I had lucked out so I followed up.
Following the exchange of a few emails with the seller directly a process was started whereby i was requested by what looked like authentic piston heads email chain, (authentic looking banners etc) to deposit the money into an escrow account owned by piston heads, who would hold the money on behalf of the seller. The seller claimed to want a quick sale in order to work abroad and that piston heads would handle the sale.
The process was that Piston heads would send me the car for me to review within 48hrs following receipt of my monies into their third party account, after which time I could keep it, they would then send the money on to the seller, or if i changed my mind within this time I could send it back and have my money returned to me. This sounded ok and I felt confident that the process was legitimate. Suspicions were raised when I tried to get an update from piston heads themselves as to whether they had received my latest email regarding delivery of the car.
I called the website and they informed me that its likely that I have been the subject of online fraud. They told me they are well aware of the scam (amongst others) and that they have a fraud warning on each advert. Looking back, I admit my mistake was not doing what I normally do before parting with good money to buy a car, and that is to see it and inspect it personally before parting with funds. I guess my enthusiasm for a 'good deal' got the better of me.
My warning to you is that piston heads have known about this sort of thing for some time now (at least 5 or 6 years) and despite having put a warning on each classified ad, I missed this 'fraud warning link', I believe it is easy to miss. They also believe the scammers access their email system/website to continually carry out this scam.
After begin scammed I strongly suggested to piston heads to put the warning as a link on their home page under 'Resources or Classifieds' for example, so that it is more easily accessible and can give people clear warning and advice about car buying over the internet.
My guess why they don't want to do this is so that they don't want to scare off potential visitors and give the wrong impression of their site. I'm as angry with piston heads as I am with the scammers (and myself to be honest). For PH they have known about this for a number of years and seem to do the bare minimum to counter it in terms of their system security and easily accessible fraud warnings.
Having looked into this further, I'm not the only one to have been caught out. So please be aware when buying from piston heads (and it appears auto trader, ebay, and other sites) that you could be scammed. Piston heads don't seem to want to put in the necessary security or safeguards to assist people to avoid being scammed and conduct a sensible buying procedure. So BUYER BEWARE !!!!
Thanks
SlideyJoe
I feel your pain.
But.....all the warnings were there without having to be alerted to them by Pistonheads:
a) Low price of the car;
b) Seller working abroad;
c) You had to pay for the car before seeing it (in full);
d) General exchange of correspondence by e-mail.
Anyone who conducts such a sale over the internet/e-mail is asking for trouble and there's no substitute for simply speaking to someone on the phone and then going to see the car with your own eyes. If it sells in the meantime, well, it just wasn't to be.
Expensive mistake OP but I hope you sort it out. Good luck.
But.....all the warnings were there without having to be alerted to them by Pistonheads:
a) Low price of the car;
b) Seller working abroad;
c) You had to pay for the car before seeing it (in full);
d) General exchange of correspondence by e-mail.
Anyone who conducts such a sale over the internet/e-mail is asking for trouble and there's no substitute for simply speaking to someone on the phone and then going to see the car with your own eyes. If it sells in the meantime, well, it just wasn't to be.
Expensive mistake OP but I hope you sort it out. Good luck.
SlideyJoe said:
Hi Guys
I want to send a warning message to all members and potential car buyers, about using the piston heads website when buying cars.
Over the weekend of 19/20th July 2014 I came across an advert for a 2009 Alfa 159 1.9 JTDm Limited Edition for £4200. I initially thought there was a mistake due to the low price, but also thinking I had lucked out so I followed up.
Following the exchange of a few emails with the seller directly a process was started whereby i was requested by what looked like authentic piston heads email chain, (authentic looking banners etc) to deposit the money into an escrow account owned by piston heads, who would hold the money on behalf of the seller. The seller claimed to want a quick sale in order to work abroad and that piston heads would handle the sale.
The process was that Piston heads would send me the car for me to review within 48hrs following receipt of my monies into their third party account, after which time I could keep it, they would then send the money on to the seller, or if i changed my mind within this time I could send it back and have my money returned to me. This sounded ok and I felt confident that the process was legitimate. Suspicions were raised when I tried to get an update from piston heads themselves as to whether they had received my latest email regarding delivery of the car.
I called the website and they informed me that its likely that I have been the subject of online fraud. They told me they are well aware of the scam (amongst others) and that they have a fraud warning on each advert. Looking back, I admit my mistake was not doing what I normally do before parting with good money to buy a car, and that is to see it and inspect it personally before parting with funds. I guess my enthusiasm for a 'good deal' got the better of me.
My warning to you is that piston heads have known about this sort of thing for some time now (at least 5 or 6 years) and despite having put a warning on each classified ad, I missed this 'fraud warning link', I believe it is easy to miss. They also believe the scammers access their email system/website to continually carry out this scam.
After begin scammed I strongly suggested to piston heads to put the warning as a link on their home page under 'Resources or Classifieds' for example, so that it is more easily accessible and can give people clear warning and advice about car buying over the internet.
My guess why they don't want to do this is so that they don't want to scare off potential visitors and give the wrong impression of their site. I'm as angry with piston heads as I am with the scammers (and myself to be honest). For PH they have known about this for a number of years and seem to do the bare minimum to counter it in terms of their system security and easily accessible fraud warnings.
Having looked into this further, I'm not the only one to have been caught out. So please be aware when buying from piston heads (and it appears auto trader, ebay, and other sites) that you could be scammed. Piston heads don't seem to want to put in the necessary security or safeguards to assist people to avoid being scammed and conduct a sensible buying procedure. So BUYER BEWARE !!!!
Thanks
SlideyJoe
FoolishI want to send a warning message to all members and potential car buyers, about using the piston heads website when buying cars.
Over the weekend of 19/20th July 2014 I came across an advert for a 2009 Alfa 159 1.9 JTDm Limited Edition for £4200. I initially thought there was a mistake due to the low price, but also thinking I had lucked out so I followed up.
Following the exchange of a few emails with the seller directly a process was started whereby i was requested by what looked like authentic piston heads email chain, (authentic looking banners etc) to deposit the money into an escrow account owned by piston heads, who would hold the money on behalf of the seller. The seller claimed to want a quick sale in order to work abroad and that piston heads would handle the sale.
The process was that Piston heads would send me the car for me to review within 48hrs following receipt of my monies into their third party account, after which time I could keep it, they would then send the money on to the seller, or if i changed my mind within this time I could send it back and have my money returned to me. This sounded ok and I felt confident that the process was legitimate. Suspicions were raised when I tried to get an update from piston heads themselves as to whether they had received my latest email regarding delivery of the car.
I called the website and they informed me that its likely that I have been the subject of online fraud. They told me they are well aware of the scam (amongst others) and that they have a fraud warning on each advert. Looking back, I admit my mistake was not doing what I normally do before parting with good money to buy a car, and that is to see it and inspect it personally before parting with funds. I guess my enthusiasm for a 'good deal' got the better of me.
My warning to you is that piston heads have known about this sort of thing for some time now (at least 5 or 6 years) and despite having put a warning on each classified ad, I missed this 'fraud warning link', I believe it is easy to miss. They also believe the scammers access their email system/website to continually carry out this scam.
After begin scammed I strongly suggested to piston heads to put the warning as a link on their home page under 'Resources or Classifieds' for example, so that it is more easily accessible and can give people clear warning and advice about car buying over the internet.
My guess why they don't want to do this is so that they don't want to scare off potential visitors and give the wrong impression of their site. I'm as angry with piston heads as I am with the scammers (and myself to be honest). For PH they have known about this for a number of years and seem to do the bare minimum to counter it in terms of their system security and easily accessible fraud warnings.
Having looked into this further, I'm not the only one to have been caught out. So please be aware when buying from piston heads (and it appears auto trader, ebay, and other sites) that you could be scammed. Piston heads don't seem to want to put in the necessary security or safeguards to assist people to avoid being scammed and conduct a sensible buying procedure. So BUYER BEWARE !!!!
Thanks
SlideyJoe
SlideyJoe said:
My warning to you is that piston heads have known about this sort of thing for some time now (at least 5 or 6 years) and despite having put a warning on each classified ad, I missed this 'fraud warning link', I believe it is easy to miss. They also believe the scammers access their email system/website to continually carry out this scam.
After begin scammed I strongly suggested to piston heads to put the warning as a link on their home page under 'Resources or Classifieds' for example, so that it is more easily accessible and can give people clear warning and advice about car buying over the internet.
My guess why they don't want to do this is so that they don't want to scare off potential visitors and give the wrong impression of their site. I'm as angry with piston heads as I am with the scammers (and myself to be honest). For PH they have known about this for a number of years and seem to do the bare minimum to counter it in terms of their system security and easily accessible fraud warnings.
Having looked into this further, I'm not the only one to have been caught out. So please be aware when buying from piston heads (and it appears auto trader, ebay, and other sites) that you could be scammed. Piston heads don't seem to want to put in the necessary security or safeguards to assist people to avoid being scammed and conduct a sensible buying procedure. So BUYER BEWARE !!!!
My guess is that you are wrong in your assumptions:After begin scammed I strongly suggested to piston heads to put the warning as a link on their home page under 'Resources or Classifieds' for example, so that it is more easily accessible and can give people clear warning and advice about car buying over the internet.
My guess why they don't want to do this is so that they don't want to scare off potential visitors and give the wrong impression of their site. I'm as angry with piston heads as I am with the scammers (and myself to be honest). For PH they have known about this for a number of years and seem to do the bare minimum to counter it in terms of their system security and easily accessible fraud warnings.
Having looked into this further, I'm not the only one to have been caught out. So please be aware when buying from piston heads (and it appears auto trader, ebay, and other sites) that you could be scammed. Piston heads don't seem to want to put in the necessary security or safeguards to assist people to avoid being scammed and conduct a sensible buying procedure. So BUYER BEWARE !!!!
- PistonHeads are proactive in trying to identify and sift out scams.
- They have provided links right alongside every ad to tell you about the risks.
- Putting the warning on the homepage (or anywhere else) doesn't help those users who only visit the classifieds. Next to the adverts is the most sensible place for the warning.
I'd suggest that because you have failed to read and heed the warnings (and consequently been caught out) that you're desperately looking for someone to blame.
There's only one person top blame here ...
they provide the following link on each advert...
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/fraudwarnings.asp
and if you click on any car image it has this at the bottom.
Please be aware that PistonHeads.com is never directly involved in sales transactions.
If the seller claims PistonHeads are handling the sale DO NOT proceed. View our fraud warnings.
what more can they do? anytime you click on anything they have a big flashing image saying remember not to get scammed?
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/fraudwarnings.asp
and if you click on any car image it has this at the bottom.
Please be aware that PistonHeads.com is never directly involved in sales transactions.
If the seller claims PistonHeads are handling the sale DO NOT proceed. View our fraud warnings.
what more can they do? anytime you click on anything they have a big flashing image saying remember not to get scammed?
f
k me. People like you are the reason there are so many scam adverts. You put over 4 grand into a random account because someone sent you an email which they had pasted pistonheads banner images into. Would you hand over 4 grand in cash because someone in a branded T-shirt knocked on your door, showed you a picture of a car and said they'd handle the sale for you?
k me. People like you are the reason there are so many scam adverts. You put over 4 grand into a random account because someone sent you an email which they had pasted pistonheads banner images into. Would you hand over 4 grand in cash because someone in a branded T-shirt knocked on your door, showed you a picture of a car and said they'd handle the sale for you?TankRizzo said:
boobles said:
Surely the moment an email suggested paying money into an online account would have alarm bells ringing?
For people with more than half a brain cell, yes.Seller is abroad?
Can’t view the car before handing over the readies?
Car is suspiciously cheap?
Third party being involved?
Sorry OP, but you really should have known better.
Question: I’m aware of what the term ‘Escrow’ means and how it is supposed to work, but is it a common practice in the UK? (I always thought that it was more of an American practice relating to Real Estate sales).
The great overlord, Google, doesn’t seem to have a definite answer, so I was just wondering...
Nezquick said:
I feel your pain.
But.....all the warnings were there without having to be alerted to them by Pistonheads:
a) Low price of the car;
b) Seller working abroad;
c) You had to pay for the car before seeing it (in full);
d) General exchange of correspondence by e-mail.
Anyone who conducts such a sale over the internet/e-mail is asking for trouble and there's no substitute for simply speaking to someone on the phone and then going to see the car with your own eyes. If it sells in the meantime, well, it just wasn't to be.
Expensive mistake OP but I hope you sort it out. Good luck.
True. It is a shame, and I feel bad when the elderly are scammed by door to door salesmen or cold calls, but the above scenario is just too dodgy and raise too many red flags, didn't you notice the less than personal emails you will have received which don't even mention the car by name and are clearly generic rubbish sent out? Alarm bells would be ringing!But.....all the warnings were there without having to be alerted to them by Pistonheads:
a) Low price of the car;
b) Seller working abroad;
c) You had to pay for the car before seeing it (in full);
d) General exchange of correspondence by e-mail.
Anyone who conducts such a sale over the internet/e-mail is asking for trouble and there's no substitute for simply speaking to someone on the phone and then going to see the car with your own eyes. If it sells in the meantime, well, it just wasn't to be.
Expensive mistake OP but I hope you sort it out. Good luck.
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