![\"Screenshots](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/293f50a810274a818cbb5b90abf34decc5ca60dd9f93b65d88e8afbf1c4fd90d.png\")
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Screenshots from a chat with a prospective buyer Jessica Maree believed was legitimate at first.\u00a0Jessica Maree<\/p>\n
Jessica didn\u2019t realise until it was almost too late.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were asking a lot of the right questions, \u2018When was it serviced? When was this or that done?\u2019, sometimes about the engine,\u201d she told nine.com.au. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past when I\u2019ve come across scams, they won\u2019t ask very relevant questions, but they were asking quite a lot of relevant questions this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t think anything was amiss when one buyer asked her for a vehicle history report<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nor when the buyer insisted she pay for the report on a website she\u2019d never heard of. <\/p>\n The alarm bells didn\u2019t start ringing until Jessica hit the checkout page and saw the report was going to cost much more than the $2 Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) buyers usually pay for themselves before purchasing a used car.<\/p>\n Scams of this nature usually charge up to $100 for an illegitimate report.<\/p>\n When Jessica raised concerns with the buyer, they got pushy.<\/p>\n \u201cThey even went so far as to organise a time to meet, to come look at the car, and were like, \u2018Before I get there, can you please just get the report done?\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more that they started to push for it, I just had this gut feeling … that\u2019s when I knew it was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n Jessica has experience in the car industry, so when the buyer started claiming the report they wanted could give them details about all of a used car\u2019s past owners, she knew it was a scam.<\/p>\n She also knew not to bother with other supposed buyers who tried the same thing in the days that followed.<\/p>\n But not all Australians have her background, and many have been tricked out of money and personal details by this ploy.<\/p>\n Selling a used car online could open Aussies up to scams.\u00a0LazingBee<\/p>\n How the \u2018vehicle history report\u2019 scam works<\/p>\n The National Anti-Scam Centre told nine.com.au it is aware of the vehicle history report scam, and Reddit threads<\/a> are overflowing with Aussies claiming to have been targeted by it.<\/p>\n It usually targets normal Aussies trying to sell their used cars on online marketplaces like Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace.<\/p>\n A seemingly eager buyer will message the seller saying they\u2019re keen on the car and will buy it as soon as the seller provides a vehicle history report.<\/p>\n \u201cThe \u2018buyer\u2019 will often ask questions about the car that make the enquiry feel authentic,\u201d a National Anti-Scam Centre spokesperson told nine.com.au.<\/p>\n They will then direct the seller to purchase one through a third-party website.<\/p>\n \u201cThe website is often controlled by scammers and set up to steal money, personal information or both,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201c[They] will rush the seller to organise the vehicle check by promising they\u2019ll buy the car today and will reimburse the seller for the cost of the vehicle check.\u201d<\/p>\n The more supposed buyers pushed for these reports, the more suspicious Jessica became.\u00a0Jessica Maree<\/p>\n The supposed buyer will usually cease contact or vanish once the seller realises they\u2019ve been scammed.<\/p>\n When Jessica confronted her supposed buyer with her suspicions that they were trying to scam her, they cut contact.<\/p>\n Now she\u2019s extra careful about selling cars online and urges other Aussies to do the same.<\/p>\n \u201cThey almost got me because they were asking the right questions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cNow I\u2019ll double-check their profile to see if it\u2019s been recently created, if the website [the buyer directs her to] is a legitimate Australian business.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone can open a .com website. Anything with .au at the end, you have to have an ABN, you have to have a proof of you are a registered business.\u201d<\/p>\n Individuals who think they have been scammed should contact their bank immediately.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they\u2019ve shared personal information, they should take steps to secure their accounts and be wary of follow-up scams that reach them through the details they\u2019ve provided (phone number, email address),\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Scams should also be reported to the National Anti-Scam Centre, and reports with financial losses should be made to\u00a0Cyber.gov.au.<\/p>\n What is a vehicle history report?<\/p>\n A vehicle history report is a record of a used car\u2019s history, often including details like if it has been written off or stolen, if there\u2019s money owing on it, its safety rating, and more.<\/p>\n These reports help buyers ensure a used car is safe and reliable before they purchase it.<\/p>\n In Australia, buyers can do a registration check on a vehicle for free online through the state or territory road authority.<\/p>\n Genuine vehicle history reports are also available for a fee (usually between $10 and $50) through legitimate channels, including state or territory road authorities<\/a>, and platforms like carsales<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some sellers choose to include a vehicle history report when they list a used car online, but it\u2019s not mandatory or even expected.<\/p>\n Nor is it common for buyers to ask sellers to purchase one on their behalf.<\/p>\n \u201cSellers should be cautious if a buyer insists on using a particular report provider, especially one they have not heard of before or one that costs more that other well-known providers,\u201d the National Anti-Scam Centre spokesperson said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Jessica Maree was bombarded by messages from eager buyers the day she listed her car for sale…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":870802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-870801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f220b414d0029664f957f73290872e8c4d25bec325cd391a3390dab4cf165ad4.jpeg\")
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