South Africans hunting for a bargain car deal online are increasingly finding themselves on the wrong side of a well-oiled scam involving criminals cloning the websites and advertisements of legitimate auctioneers and banks and tricking unsuspecting buyers into paying hefty deposits for vehicles that don’t exist.
The South African Institute of Auctioneers (SAIA) has issued a firm warning to the public to use extreme caution when searching for second hand cars and rather make use of companies portals rather than finding vehicles on social media platforms. When considering bidding for a vehicle buyers should also look for any red flags and remember if the car seems too cheap or the deal too good to be true it probably is.
According to Sonja Styger, Chief Administration Officer at SAIA, the scams most often originate on platforms like Facebook Marketplace, where cars are advertised well below market value and “reserved” for buyers willing to pay upfront. But buyers should note that under South African law no auction asset may be sold at a fixed price. Yet these so-called sellers offer vehicles at predetermined prices and press buyers to pay a deposit to avoid the car “going to auction.”
“It’s a blatant red flag as these scamsters know the general public may not understand how auctions work and capitalise on that ignorance. An auction doesn’t have a fixed price, the highest bid when the hammer falls determines the price,” says Styger.
In many cases cloned adverts feature photos of vehicles scraped from the internet. Fraudsters pose as legitimate auctioneers complete with stolen branding and cloned websites right down to official-looking WhatsApp business accounts and email signatures. The big difference of course is the bank details they provide are fake and once the money clears the fraudsters disappear.
The scam extends beyond auctioneers. Even South Africa’s top vehicle finance providers are being targeted by impersonators. On platforms like TikTok and Facebook fake accounts using these bank’s branding have emerged pretending to offer repossessed vehicles at knockdown prices. The catch is that buyers are told to pay a “reservation” fee to hold the car before it goes on auction.
These are sophisticated scammers that mimic legitimate companies’ communications and logos with such precision that many people cannot tell the difference.
There are clear warning signs if you know what to look for:
- Fixed pricing for auction vehicles which is Illegal under South African auction law.
- Payment requested via WhatsApp or direct bank transfer. Always rather pay through verified secure platforms.
- No verifiable company registration or physical address. Reputable SAIA registered auctioneers are transparent.
- Poorly written ads with vague vehicle information
- No refundable registration deposit. Genuine SAIA registered auctions require you to register and pay a deposit to participate but never to secure a specific car beforehand.
- Viewing any asset is imperative, never pay money over to anyone unless you have physically inspected an item and are completely satisfied with the condition of the asset.
To avoid falling victim SAIA urges to stick to SAIA-registered auctioneers and check any auctioneer’s credentials before engaging. SAIA keeps a verified list of trusted members on their website at www.auctioneering.co.za, along with contact details to help verify any social media listing or auction advertisement.
“If a buyer is unsure about an advert or auctioneer take five minutes and contact us to verify. Trust your instincts. If something feels unsettling rather stop and verify as it is far better to miss a great deal than to lose your savings to a scam that was never real to begin with.”
