-- A car expert has issued a warning to drivers after victims lose thousands of pounds in private number plate scams on social media.
Jon Kirkbright, sales director at Platehunter, has over 11 years of experience in the motor industry buying and selling registration plates. In recent months, he has noticed a worrying trend that has led him to issue a warning to drivers or those in the market to buy or sell a private registration plate.
Jon has received multiple reports of people making accounts on social media and claiming to work for his company. These scammers are charging people thousands of pounds for a number plate that they are not in a position to sell in the first place. He is concerned that people are falling victim to these scams, and that it could cause damage to his business and reputation.
Jon said: “It is terrible to think that some people are being scammed out of their hard earned money by people pretending they work for my company. Facebook allows people to say they work for any company, and the company does not get alerted or have to verify the claim which is particularly worrying.
“The scammers are very clever and so convincing that they can be hard to spot - but you should always be suspicious when online transactions are involved - especially on social media.”
Jon has spent years building up his client base after making reliable and legitimate sales. He is now sharing his top tips on how to spot a scam before falling victim.
Here are the main private number plate scams, and how they are conducted:
- Sharing your certificate number online could mean that your private registration plate can be stolen instantly. A seller might unknowingly share an image of their certificate only to find that it has actually been stolen already and has been applied to someone else’s vehicle by the time a legitimate sale takes place.
- Some fraudsters may act as though they are genuinely interested in purchasing a plate, and ask the seller to provide a picture of the certificate as proof they own the registration. The scammer can then use the certificate number to steal the plate, as well as using the image of the certificate to further scam other buyers.
- Some people may steal certificates from their family or friends without their knowledge. In this case, the rightful owners of the registration plate may not be aware of the crime until much later when they try to use or sell the registration, to be told that it is being used on another vehicle. In this case, the owner can raise a complaint to the DVLA and will be reissued with the plate - even if the new owner thought they had made a legitimate purchase.
Jon said: “Here at Platehunter, we would never ask our customers to complete a sale based on a conversation on social media.
“We use phone and email, and ask people to post documents to us and send us certificates by email. We then conduct checks to ensure that the certificate number is valid and, if it’s valid, we will pay the person named on that certificate. We check the certificate number and make sure that the buyer gets the plate and the seller gets the money."
Platehunter do not use social media to do transactions. They will deal with everything and make sure there is no issue with the buyer or the seller. They refund it if it fails and it turns out to be a dodgy seller.
Jon says that this is why people buy from a dealer, adding that his company acts as a solicitor and make sure that no one is getting ripped off. If they turn 'dodgy' down the line, the company is liable and will ensure refunds are given.
Jon has shared some advice to follow when making purchases online:
- Never send money until you’re certain it is a trusted company - You should never part with any money until you are sure that what you are purchasing is from a trusted seller. This rule applies to every transaction online - not just private numbers plates.
- Never share your private number plate certificate number on social media - Your certificate number is the main tool scammers use to conduct their crimes. Only share your certificate number with someone you trust or a reputable company.
- Always do your research - Before agreeing on a deal, be sure to do your research on the product and the seller. Make sure you are purchasing the item at a reasonable price as well as from a trusted source.
- Read reviews - When it comes to people claiming to work for companies, one way to be sure of avoiding scams is to search for the company online and read reviews. Sometimes reviews will mention specific names and this could be a good way of verifying if the person does in fact work for the company they claim they do.
- Check multiple social media platforms - If you are conversing with the person on one social media platform, be sure to visit the website of the company they say they work for and see if they have any other social media accounts. There is no harm in sending a message to the company on a separate social media platform to verify that the person you are speaking to is in fact an employee - or better yet, give the company a call.
Contact Info:
Name: Jon Kirkbright
Email: Send Email
Organization: PlateHunter
Website: https://www.platehunter.com/
Release ID: 89105608
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