The Internet can be a Very Good Place to Shop, but Watch out for Scams and Crooks!
By John Roehll

We’ve written about this subject in the past, but unfortunately, online scams are happening way too frequently. These criminals are technically savvy and know what they’re doing. At DAS, we want to make sure consumers are educated to protect themselves when shopping online.

As the largest and one of the oldest privately owned vehicle relocation companies in the U.S., we receive calls on a daily basis from consumers who’ve been scammed out of thousands of dollars by criminals who told them the car they just purchased will be shipped with DAS. Unfortunately, there really is no car, and it certainly isn’t being stored at or shipped by DAS. By the time DAS receives these calls, the money is gone with little to no recourse.

This is how it usually works… A consumer spots a great deal on a vehicle, usually on eBay or Craigslist, reading something like this, “My husband died in Iraq. $20,000 SUV on sale for $4,800 because I can’t stand the memories. Here are pictures. It’s being stored by DAS Auto Shippers at their Gardena, CA terminal. Wire money here, and I’ll ship it to you.”

The sad thing is every month we still receive approximately 700 calls from Internet auto fraud victims. There is nothing we can do to prevent the criminals from using our name. They pick a well known business, duplicate the website and tell the consumer the car is being shipped or stored. We only find out when they call us to arrange pick up of the vehicle. Unfortunately, the victims have already wired the cash to the crook!

So, please be careful out there when you’re shopping online. It doesn’t happen only in the vehicle industry.

• Do not ever wire money, no matter what, ever – no legitimate car dealer or individual owner should require a wire transfer.
• Validate the source - pick up the phone and call the auto dealer to get some information on their background and history. Anyone can build a legitimate looking website, but if an auto dealer isn’t willing to spend time with you on the phone to close a sale, that should be your first hint.
• Always ask for the CARFAX report to gather details on the vehicle’s history.

And, if you need to ship a car with DAS, call us directly. We will work with you to create the most efficient service for your needs and provide all the necessary documentation to know your car will arrive at its new location safely and securely.