A lot of people fall scam to fake buy and sell car sites because they are not able to distinguish between fake car sites and authentic ones. As such, you need to protect yourself by learning the difference between the fake and authentic buy and sell car sites. Here are tips on how to do so:
Read reviews
You can hardly go wrong when you want to buy any products, including cars and first read about reviews of the product from independent and reliable reviews platforms like US-Reviews. By reading the reviews, you will know about the reputation of the seller and if it is safe to patronize them.
The same will also apply to when you want to get an insurance policy for the car. You will have to check different car insurances opinions online to know the right type of insurance that you should get for your car based on its model and what you want to use the car for (personal, official, transportation).
Verify the padlock on the website
Any website that does not have a padlock is fake and unfriendly. Every reliable website has a padlock with HTTPS. This means that the communication between you and the server is secure and encrypted. This assures you that your data is not at risk of being stolen and the server is not malicious. Also, if your browser flags a certain website as not secure, then you should not enter any sensitive information on the page or trust any information therein. Also, a reliable website usually has a trust seal – a stamp granted by a security organization. This shows that the website is safe and the business is registered.
Check the contact page and social media handles
Also, to tell if a buy and sell car website is legit, you have to verify the physical address of the website. On the contact pages of every reliable website, there is a phone number and email ID listed. The email should not be a generic one but should bear the company brand. Besides, you should check whether the website has a strong presence on social media.
In this age, most registered businesses have some sort of social media presence. The graphics on the website should link to real social media accounts, but on fake websites, they don’t. You should read the company’s reviews on social media platforms and see if you can find any real employees online.
Request for a physical meetup
A reliable buy and sell car website should have a physical location where customers can check out the cars they want to buy. If the owners of the website are evading a physical meeting, it likely means that they have no physical warehouse and are scared of being exposed for their deceit. Also, you should be careful of where you go should the owners of the website ask you to come. It is advised you run background checks on the area before you go there. Most people have fallen victims to evil circumstances because of going to such unverified locations on fake sites.
Check if the business is registered
Every legitimate business is registered with the government of a country. Check the list of registered businesses in your country to see if you can find the name of the car company. If it is not there, chances are that it is not recognized by the government. You can notify the authorities of this so that they can take appropriate steps and stop others from falling victims. Never do business with a car company you are unsure of its stand with the government.