Car 'VAC report" scam.

Kia Ora Harry,

Cheers for sharing this information - Much appreciated 😊

A like site requesting a VAC report just reported in Community is from the website 'vehicle audit.org'

https://help.trademe.co.nz/hc/en-us/community/posts/7974578288271/comments/9162819429007

I would notify TradeMe staff of your Buyer details including Membership name/number & email address etc, enabling staff a Heads up on blocking this person from the site.

TradeMe staff have requested fraudulent emails with the pretense of being TradeMe to be forwarded directly through to their Trust & Safety Team using the abuse@trademe.co.nz email address.

- Cheers.

Yes, this seems to be a new one (to New Zealand) but has been around for a while overseas. Hopefully it won't gain too much traction on Trade Me. One positive is that the scammer has to be a Trade Me member to contact you so it's a pretty simple fix for TM to disable the scam account.

As well as the great advice from S, it might be a good idea to also report it to CERT and / or netsafe. They can monitor these and see if a trend is developing.

https://www.cert.govt.nz/individuals/report-an-issue/

Yes, I've reported it but as per usual, zero reply from security team, they have gotten SO bad in the last few years :(. Sad.

Hi. This has just happened to me. Listed a vehicle and within 10mins i had a guy emailing me, wanting to come down and view and purchase the vehicle as long as I provided him a VA report. Ive told him no, its up to him to do the report to which he replied 'Look its not my vehicle to be purchasing report you are selling your vehicle I always do VA when I post online'
Ive told him he is welcome to have an AA inspection done on it, or run a carjam report at his cost.

Cheers Calleigh,

Sorry to read this has happened to you also and well done for not falling into the trap.

Have you reported this to TradeMe staff so they can block this person from the site?

Keep a vigilant eye on your emails coming through and as advised above forward any fraudulent emails directly through to the TradeMe Trust & Safety Team.

I would also filter this persons emails through to your spam/junk folder in your email program so they are picked up by your email provider & blocked from that level - Cheers.

I contacted Trade Me and they told me just to blacklist them. I see you have posted an email address in a previous comment, so will contact them also.

Well done Calleigh,

I'm Sorry to read you received that response from the CE Live Chat Team after reporting both a scam taking place & the Scammer's details in your attempt to keep other Members & the TradeMe platform safe from such!

Yes! forward your email to the Trust & Safety Team, they are the correct ones to manage this area and the CE Team should have passed the information you supplied them with through to!

Thank you for letting us know - Keep Safe - Cheers.

Just received this email from from trade me trust & safety after sending them the email details. Thanks to those who posted this original thread, made me double-check. :)
Kia ora Calleigh

You received a scam message through your listing: 2007 Honda Civic 4615398638 The message was: 2007 Honda Civic is available?

The message was sent by a scammer, not a genuine Trade Me member. If you've received further contact from them, please delete it and block the sender right away. It's important that you don't click any of the links in emails or texts from this person, and if you already have you'll need to run a full virus check on your device ASAP to ensure there is no malware or virus. If you've provided any bank card information, contact your bank immediately to cancel the card.

If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you aren't sure about any of the terms mentioned in this email, or want to know more, check out our phishing and scams blog post: https://www.trademe.co.nz/c/trust-safety/how-to-protect-against-scams.

Yes… I also got persistent email from a Muhammad asking me to get VA report and when I asked what that was, he gave me link to website. As soon as I saw payment for report was US$40 it was red flag… why have US currency for NZ report.

Kia Ora Suzie,

Thank you for sharing and Sorry to read this has happened to you also,

As you have clicked on that website link you were sent it will pay you run a full virus check on your device. - Forward that email through to the TradeMe Trust & Safety Team - then filter this persons emails through to your spam/junk folder in your email program so they are picked up by your email provider & blocked from that level.

If you want to report this or have further queries and would like to talk with a TradeMe person/staff member you can make contact through "Live Chat" for assistance during manned Business hours, as advised above - Keep a vigilant eye on your incoming emails for further phishing/spam coming through - Forward then Filter any as above as required - Keep Safe - Cheers.

Just had this on our car listing! He called it a VA Listing. Big red flag when their trade page was made this month. (July 2024)

They will email and ask for a reason for selling then they will ask to meet up and receive a VA Report.

I just replied scammer and blocked him. It’s a shame people like this are on trade me now. Stay safe guys!

Thanks FIZZ, be good if you could email that member name directly through to Trade Me for action. Yes, they will no doubt just make a new account, but it all helps!

Cheers for the Heads up FIZZ,

Great to read you spotted it  and ahead of entering any Links,

Filter any incoming phishing emails you may receive to your spam/junk folder enabling your email service provider to block them on that level also and forward them to TradeMe Trust & Safety at their abuse@ address - phishing attempts may come from many different email address's therefore it's good to get the heads up on these to TM staff. - Much appreciated.