How Scammers are Selling Innocent East Texans Junk Cars

(Jacksonville, Texas) - There was a stretch in my life when I didn't own a vehicle. Luckily, I had some great bosses and I was able to get back and forth to work and occasionally get some personal errands done. After a few years, I was finally able to buy my own vehicle.

I didn't do a whole lot of searching for that new-to-me vehicle on places like Facebook or Craig's List or any other sketchy retailer. I went to a local car dealer to purchase my vehicle because I knew it would be checked over and would be reliable. Unfortunately, not a lot of people can do that and have been taken advantage of.

Scammer's Have Found a Sneaky Way to Sell You a Junk Car

It's a practice you may not have heard about called curbstoning (kztv10.com). This is where a scammer will put a "For Sale" sign in the window of a car or truck in a parking lot or list the vehicle online. The vehicle being sold, however, is either stolen, has been in a flood or badly repaired from a wreck.

It will all look legit. The scammer may give some kind of sad story about the vehicle to influence the sale. But all the scammer is doing is trying to flip the vehicle to make a quick buck while giving you a broke down car that won't be drivable in a month.

How to Protect Yourself From Curbstoning

There are some red flags to look for in the curbstoning scam. The scammer will not be a licensed dealer. A proper bill of sale will not be presented. No warranty will be offered. The seller also will not let you have a mechanic look over the vehicle first. They'll need the money right then and there.

They won't have a title for the vehicle, either. That means you will have to go through the process of finding a lost title which could turn up some other issues. It is a practice that is happening in East Texas. Be vigilant when talking with someone online about buying a vehicle. If they don't let you have the car checked out or the price seems to good to be true, trust your gut and don't buy it.

Go to a Licensed Dealer

It'll probably be better to go to a licensed dealer to buy your next vehicle. I get it, you may not like any of the local dealers in East Texas. But unless the person online is someone you know and whole heartedly trust, that's the way to go.

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