Fake caravan sales website warning
Scammers target unwary buyers with bogus caravan dealsAs more people look to go on an RV holiday as pandemic restrictions ease, the West Australian government is warning people about a number of ‘scam’ websites, offering too-good-to-be-true deals on 'fake' caravans and motorhomes.
WA ScamNet has listed a number of fake websites selling cheap second-hand caravans and motorhomes, with some like the 'ivan-caravan' website allegedly stealing the ABN of a legitimate West Australia business in order to set up the site.
Websites for Sevenstarscaravans and Trojancaravan are also to be treated as suspicious, WA ScamNet warns.
Targetting first-time buyers the Sevenstarscaravans.com site, which carries the logo of the official state caravan industry association and lists two 'street' addresses in Victoria and Western Australia, advertises a number of British and European models that were never officially sold in Australia. There's also a 2017 Bailey Pamplona that might have retailed for around $70,000 when new, advertised at just $15,500 drive-away.
Tips to avoid being scammed
WA ScamNet offers the following advice to consumers on how to avoid being scammed by a "fake' website:
Be wary of ‘great deals’ served to you via an internet search or pop-ups. Scammers hope to catch you out when you impulse buy, for example because of the promise of a bargain.
Be suspicious of sites you haven’t heard of before or that haven’t been online for long (copyright 2020 at the bottom for example).
Consider the risks if there is no physical address, phone contact details or ABN.
Watch out for sites asking for insecure payment methods (direct bank transfer or wire transfer).
Protect yourself by using known reputable sites and paying by a secure system (padlocked) with credit card or Paypal, which provides you with an opportunity to seek a chargeback if you don’t get what you paid for.
Use the internet to search for reviews before buying from a website as this will often reveal consumer blog threads exposing scam sites, or indeed one of Consumer Protection’s warnings.
Be aware scammers create copycat sites of real online businesses. Pixelated photos can be a sign of this.
Remember it’s hard to enforce the Australian Consumer Law if an online business is overseas.
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