Selling your car? Scammers still have it 'VIN' for you!
We've recently seen a large cluster of domains hosting fake Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) lookup sites — and private car sellers are the target.
While this trick isn’t new, it still catches many off guard — especially first-time sellers. Here’s how it usually plays out:
- You list your car on platforms like AutoTrader, Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace.
- You're contacted by a keen 'buyer', perhaps asking a few questions to build trust.
- The buyer then asks *you* to get a VIN report — but only from a site *they* provide.
Red flag: Legitimate buyers wanting to know a vehicle's history are to be expected - they may ask for the VIN to do this themselves - but insisting on a specific site is a classic scam move.
Here’s what happens next:
- You enter your VIN on the fake site - it teases you with basic info like make and model.
- To get the 'full report' you’re asked to pay $20–$40.
- At best, you're sent to a legitimate payment provider — but the money goes straight to the scammer.
- At worst, you've just entered your card details into a phishing site.
Got your report? Good luck contacting that buyer, they're 'Audi 5000' — long gone. As for the report, it's usually worthless — no odometer readings, no previous owners, no insurance history - and of no value to you or a legit buyer.
Unsurprisingly, 'VIN' features in their devious domain names, and at the time of writing we identrified a large cluster using it with U.S. states and locations, for example:
- goldstatevin[.]com
- gulfstatevin[.]com
- kansasvin[.]com
- misissippivin[.]com
- utahvincheck[.]com
These have since gone offline, hopefully for good. They're not alone though, the following domains appear to target sellers in Australia and are currently active:
- proregocheck[.]com
- smartcheckvin[.]com
- smartvincheck[.]com
- vincheckzone[.]com
Tip: If a buyer wants a VIN report, let them sort it out — or use a trusted provider of your own. If they refuse? Tell 'em to hit the road!
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