Watch out for Scammers! Automobile House owners, Take Notice! Newest Automobile Rip-off Assortment

Many automotive homeowners depart their telephone numbers on their windshields in case of emergencies, however this may additionally give scammers entry to their data and create alternatives for fraud. This time, Kwiksure has compiled data on varied automotive scams, together with the most recent strategies of telemarketing fraud, phishing textual content messages, automotive insurance coverage scams, and fraudulent gross sales scams, and shares 5 anti-fraud methods to scale back the chance of being scammed.

Watch out for scammers |Newest automotive scams and telecom fraud strategies

1. Unsuitable parking rip-off messages

Some scammers use the telephone quantity left on the windshield of a automotive proprietor to ship a message claiming that the automotive proprietor has parked within the flawed automotive. They’ll precisely say the automotive proprietor’s license plate quantity, car mannequin, and the situation of the automotive they often park in, making the automotive proprietor mistakenly imagine that the opposite celebration is a neighbor and decreasing their guard, thereby acquiring extra data to commit fraud.

2. Automobile scratch rip-off

Scammers will contact automotive homeowners by way of cell messaging apps, claiming that they witnessed the scratches on the automotive proprietor’s car. They may additionally describe the car’s license plate quantity, coloration, and the situation of the accident. They tried to make use of the car as a subject of ‘friendship’ to commit fraud.

3. A message was despatched claiming that the facet mirror of a car had been broken and the sender needed to pay compensation.

The scammers will ship messages to the telephone quantity left by the automotive proprietor, ‘confessing’ that they by accident scratched the facet mirror of the automotive whereas parking, and recommend that the automotive proprietor verify the car’s situation and take a video to facilitate compensation. If the automotive proprietor refuses to compensate, the scammers might supply to ‘deal with them to a meal’ and ‘make pals’ to proceed the dialog.

4. Phishing SMS messages utilizing the guise of ‘digital tickets’

Police piloted Digital Mounted Penalty Tickets in June 2025, issuing tickets by way of SMS or e-mail. Scammers will counterfeit the cell SMS format and declare that there are excellent site visitors tickets for autos and fasten hyperlinks to pretend digital site visitors ticketing platforms to trick automotive homeowners into offering their private or account data.

5. Pretend license plates

The goal of the sort of rip-off is intending to purchase a used car. Specialists know that scammers can forge extremely sensible pretend license plates, an identical to real ones in paper high quality, font, and content material. Nonetheless, the car proprietor’s data on the plate is totally fictitious. Scammers usually demand money funds from patrons, and even when the client insists on a financial institution switch, they’ll nonetheless be deceived because of the pretend proprietor’s identification on the plate. Earlier than making a transaction, specialists can request the car proprietor to use for a Certificates of Particulars of Motor Automobile to maintain your thoughts relaxed.’

6. Pretend automotive insurance coverage

Scammers will contact victims by way of web sites, social media, or cell messaging apps, claiming to be an insurance coverage firm middleman. They lure automotive homeowners into shopping for automotive insurance coverage by providing increased premium reductions, and ask the victims to submit insurance coverage data and switch cash to their private financial institution accounts by way of cell phone. They then problem pretend non permanent and official insurance coverage insurance policies.

7. Counterfeit ‘EasyPass’

Some scammers will impersonate ‘HKeToll‘ textual content message claims that the sufferer has an overdue invoice with penalties and asks the recipient to click on on an internet site hyperlink offered within the message to verify and pay the invoice. This tips the sufferer into clicking on a pretend web site and stealing their bank card data and private knowledge.

8. Automobile switch mortgage

Current stories point out that scammers, posing as patrons, receive car registration certificates and copies of ID playing cards from automotive homeowners. They then forge signatures on paperwork discovered within the registration certificates and, posing as brokers, apply for substitute certificates and switch of possession, in the end transferring the car to apply for a automotive mortgage. For the reason that Transport Division doesn’t require the unique ID card to be introduced when reissuing a car registration certificates, scammers can apply for a switch of possession for car homeowners with only a copy of the car registration certificates and a accomplished kind. Automobile homeowners must be additional cautious when promoting their autos to keep away from disclosing any private data or paperwork.

Watch out for Scammers | Suggestions for Avoiding Telecom Fraud/Automobile Gross sales Scams

1. By no means disclose any private or account data

Scammers typically ship fraudulent messages by means of cell messaging apps. Whatever the content material, if you obtain a message from an unknown quantity, be skeptical and confirm its authenticity. By no means disclose any private or account data earlier than confirming the identification of the opposite celebration.

2. Watch out for phishing textual content messages

When receiving textual content messages that seem like from the federal government or official channels, by no means click on on hyperlinks inside the message. First, verify if the sender’s identify is misspelled. Based on the SMS Sender Registration Schemeall SMS tickets could have a sender’s identify beginning with ‘#’, and the content material is not going to embody any hyperlinks. All Authorities web sites will use the area ‘.gov.hk’.

3. Confirm the credibility of the telephone quantity and web site

When you suspect you may have acquired a rip-off message, you need to use the rip-off entice finder ‘Scameter’ App launched by the Hong Kong Police Drive. The system makes use of ‘suspicious name alerts’ and ‘suspicious web site detection’ features to evaluate the credibility and safety dangers of telephone numbers and web sites, decreasing the possibilities of being scammed.

4. Confirm the vendor’s identification earlier than making cost

Earlier than buying automotive insurance coverage or promoting a automotive, you need to at all times confirm the opposite celebration’s identification. When you have any doubts in regards to the identification of the automotive insurance coverage vendor, you possibly can straight inquire with the related insurance coverage firm. It will stop you from depositing premiums into a private checking account, and you too can confirm the data with the insurance coverage firm after receiving the coverage.

Within the automotive gross sales market, earlier than shopping for a used automotive, patrons ought to fastidiously verify the authenticity of the vendor’s car registration certificates. Consumers can request authorization from the vendor and pay to use for a Certificates of Particulars of Motor Automobile to confirm the car proprietor’s identification on the license plate. When promoting a automotive, keep away from offering the vendor with copies of the license plate and ID card on the similar time, to stop pretend patrons from utilizing your private data for unlawful functions.’

5. Name the anti-fraud hotline 18222

When you suspect you may have been scammed, you possibly can name the 24-hour ‘Anti-Fraud Simple 18222’ hotline to contact the Anti-Fraud Coordination Heart for help. You can even get the most recent data and warnings about rip-off strategies.

Continuously Requested Questions

How do scammers defraud automotive homeowners by means of messages?

After noting down the automotive proprietor’s telephone quantity, the scammers will provoke conversations by making varied excuses, resembling parking within the flawed automotive or damaging the automotive’s facet mirror. They are going to regularly ‘befriend’ the automotive proprietor to acquire private data after which perform funding or emotional fraud after gaining their belief.

How you can keep away from being scammed when shopping for or promoting vehicles?

Scammers might forge extremely sensible car registration certificates utilizing false identities. Earlier than conducting a transaction, they might request the car proprietor to use for a ‘Certificates of Particulars of Motor Automobile‘ to confirm their identification. By no means disclose private data or submit any funds earlier than confirming the identification. When promoting a automotive, keep away from offering the vendor with copies of the car registration certificates and ID card to stop pretend patrons from utilizing your private data for unlawful functions.