Automotive News

JJ Best Banc & Co. Warns Dealership Partners of Growing Threat From Fraudulent Classic Car Websites

JJ Best Banc & Co., a leading provider of financing for classic and collector vehicles, is alerting its dealership partners to an increasingly sophisticated threat facing the collector car industry: fraudulent websites impersonating legitimate classic and collectible vehicle dealerships. Trust is fundamental to the classic car business, where buyers and sellers routinely make significant financial commitments based on reputation, relationships, and confidence in the person on the other side of the transaction. As fraudulent operators increasingly turn to convincing websites, stolen vehicle photographs, fabricated dealership information, and even artificial intelligence-generated images of fake salespeople, JJ Best says vigilance has become more important than ever. JJ Best’s fraud-detection efforts begin when a new dealership or unfamiliar seller enters the company’s radar. Rather than simply accepting a website or dealership’s claims at face value, JJ Best representatives investigate the business, its online presence, vehicle inventory, physical address, and other available information to determine whether the operation appears legitimate. That process has helped protect customers from sending their hard-earned money to fraudulent operators. When JJ Best identifies a suspected scam, the company works to stop the transaction and, when appropriate, points customers toward established classic and collectible vehicle dealers in their area that JJ Best knows and trusts. JJ Best also contacts legitimate dealerships when their vehicle photographs have been copied, altered, and republished on fraudulent websites. Stolen inventory photographs can make a fake dealership appear authentic while allowing scammers to advertise vehicles they do not own. “Fraud detection isn’t just about vehicle photos — it’s about physical addresses, too. Scam sites almost always use the address of a defunct dealership to appear legitimate,” said Taylor Allen, a JJ Best Loan Officer with 17 years of experience. Allen recently encountered a suspected fraudulent dealership operating under the domain sky1auto.com and claiming to be based in Federal Heights, Colorado. The website was using information and imagery intended to create the appearance of a legitimate automotive business. “A fake dealer claiming to operate out of Federal Heights, CO — using the domain sky1auto.com — was on the brink of defrauding one of my customers,” Allen said. “After stopping the customer from sending money, I confirmed the scam by calling the county. They stated that the previous dealership had been condemned, and there’s nothing at that address but an empty lot. The scam site even shows us ‘Cody,’ an AI-generated photo of its fake salesperson.” The incident illustrates why JJ Best believes consumers and dealers must look beyond the appearance of a website when evaluating an unfamiliar seller. A polished website, professional vehicle photographs, a physical address, and a seemingly credible salesperson do not necessarily establish that a dealership is legitimate. Protecting Dealer Inventory with Watermarks JJ Best is also encouraging its dealership partners to take proactive steps to make stolen inventory photographs less attractive to scammers. One of the simplest measures is watermarking vehicle photographs with the dealership’s name or logo. Watermarks do not eliminate the possibility of image theft, but they can make photographs more difficult for scammers to reuse convincingly and can help consumers identify the original dealership. JJ Best recommends that dealers consider adding a visible but unobtrusive watermark to online inventory photographs. For dealers working from a smartphone, a free photo-editing or watermarking application can be used to import a vehicle photograph, add the dealership name or logo as text, adjust the opacity so the watermark does not obscure the vehicle, and export the finished image. Dealers working on a desktop can use free design tools such as Canva to upload a photograph, add a text or logo layer, set the opacity to approximately 40% to 60%, and position the watermark across the lower third or diagonally across the image. For dealerships with large inventories, batch-processing tools or software features such as Photoshop Actions can apply a consistent watermark to numerous photographs at once. “Watermarks are a first line of defense,” JJ Best said. “We’re working on other strategies to help protect dealership inventory and reputation as fraudulent websites become more sophisticated.” JJ Best encourages dealers to immediately notify the company if they discover that their vehicle photographs, dealership identity, address, or other business information appear to have been copied and used by a suspicious website. Early notification can help JJ Best identify potential fraud before a customer becomes a victim. JJ Best Encourages Buyers to Verify Online Dealers The company also encourages consumers to pause before sending a deposit or payment to an unfamiliar online dealer. Buyers should independently verify the dealership’s physical location and contact information, confirm that the business operates from the stated address, compare inventory photographs with other listings, and be cautious of sellers who create pressure to send money quickly. For legitimate dealers, the threat extends beyond individual fraudulent transactions. When criminals impersonate an established dealership, the damage can affect the real dealer’s reputation and customer relationships. JJ Best therefore views fraud prevention as an effort that benefits the entire collector car community. “The classic car business is built on trust,” said  Chris Laganelli of JJ Best Banc & Co.  “Protecting that trust means looking out for our customers and our dealer partners. When we find something suspicious, we don’t just move on. We investigate it, alert the appropriate dealership, and do what we can to keep the customer from becoming a victim.” JJ Best’s continued focus on fraud detection reflects its commitment to the collector vehicle industry and to the dealers and enthusiasts it serves. As scammers adopt increasingly sophisticated techniques, including stolen photography, abandoned dealership addresses, fabricated identities, and AI-generated imagery, JJ Best believes that awareness and verification remain among the most effective tools available to the industry. Dealership partners seeking to discuss suspected fraudulent activity, inventory protection strategies, or other concerns are encouraged to contact  Chris Laganelli at JJ Best Banc & Co. About JJ Best Banc & Co. JJ Best Banc & Co. specializes exclusively in financing classic, collector, antique, exotic, and specialty vehicles. With decades of experience serving automotive enthusiasts nationwide, the company provides competitive financing solutions, flexible loan terms, and personalized customer service to help make collector vehicle ownership more accessible.