Car dealer cloning is a rapidly expanding scam.  It occurs when a scammer sets up a website or social media profile  in which they pose as a legitimate car dealer.  The website and social media posts use images and photographs of legitimate car dealers to make them look legitimate and, with the increased availability of AI to assist the scammers in setting up their phony car dealer websites and social media presence, they appear quite legitimate.  On these phony sites the scammers offer tremendous discounts on cars.  Generally, the scammers require the purchase price for the non-existent cars to be wired to them.  Wiring funds is a favorite choice of payment of scammers because it can be difficult to reverse and is easy for the scammers to disguise their identity.  While the warning came from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, this scam is going on throughout the country.

TIPS

Research any car dealer you are considering to confirm their actual phone number, email address and other contact information to make sure you are communicating with the real dealer and not a scammer posing as the legitimate dealer.  Confirm with your state Department of Transportation that the dealer with whom you are dealing is a properly registered.  Never buy a car without actually seeing and inspecting it.  Before wiring money. confirm with the seller’s bank the identity of the company you are sending the funds to.  You can tell the bank that you want to verify the company’s identity before wiring funds.