Buying a used car online?

Fraudsters are, needless to say, continuously on the lookout for newer modes of duping their probable victims and they succeed in inventing and reinventing newer and more challenging ways to take their 'beneficiaries' for granted.

"We have received several such situations where vehicle owners or incumbent buyers are duped and vehicles and or money taken away during the last few months, and thanks to the quick action by the Royal Oman Police (ROP), we were able to arrest a number of suspects while committing the criminal act. It also arrested fraudsters who sell vehicles as well as those who buy," said Colonel Ahmed bin Ali al Rawas, Assistant Director General of Criminal Investigations at the Royal Oman Police (ROP).

One such way is to lure those who want to buy a used car and to free him of his funds that he reserved for a vehicle. They will gather details of those who are searching for vehicles to begin with. Then, taking into consideration the type of vehicle that he or she is looking for, they will send you a photo or many photos of a car which belongs to someone else, parked somewhere in the same locality or the like, of course, covered the number plate with mosaic.

The next step is to ask you to transfer funds and that way is quite common. But has one heard of a way where the fraudster wants to buy your car and asks you if you can export the same to their address abroad?

"Yes, there are many unscrupulous guys out there who would seek your kindness to send the vehicle to their address which is usually overseas and ask you to share your bank account number and the fraud starts there," Al Rawas adds.

The seller would be needed to share the OTP number that his mobile might have received by then and the usual method of duping ensues.

"In these cases, what we can advise the vehicle importers is to verify the validity of import certificates so that they do not fall victim to fraud. Also, be careful when dealing with people who buy vehicles for more than their value using checks without balance."

STEALING VEHICLES WHOSE ENGINE IS ON

Yet another fashion of stealing vehicles is to drive away cars whose engine is kept on as the owner wants to run quick errands at a grocery nearby and doesn't want to step into high temperature back in the car.

"We observed the places of vehicle theft, it is clear that most of them were parked in a running condition and the owner expected to do quick shopping or collect something which was readily kept but the vehicle was stolen away upon his return."

On the criminal methods and the factors that make it easier for criminals to commit their crimes, according to him, is the negligence of the driver of the vehicle which is the most important reason that leads to its theft. Some of the most important factors that may expose the vehicle to theft, including standing in front of bank ATMs, in front of shops such as quick shopping stores and filling stations, and in front of homes, and thus the driver of the vehicle has given an opportunity to those who beg himself to steal the vehicle.

In other instances, some vehicle owners offer their vehicles for sale in places that are not designated for parking for a long time, or park them in places far away from the sight of passers-by, either to protect them from sunlight or while travelling long distance. This practice too has made some vehicles being lost and in other cases some people are in the practice of leaving the vehicle key in a specific place in the vehicle’s body itself, especially when they practice sports.

“These places where they keep the key have become known to most of the perpetrators of vehicle theft crimes and this is unnecessarily inviting robbers,” Al Rawas added.

BUYING VEHICLES ONLINE?

Buying or selling a vehicle online may be easy, time-saving and quick. But it entails dangers too. Perpetrators target the vehicles offered for sale on social media and other market applications and start negotiating with the owner of the vehicle to sell it for an amount greater than the required price, provided that the amount is paid by bank cheques. These incidents have later become cases of dishonor of cheque cases and money laundering attempts by many. Hence, checking the account details from a reliable source would be safe.