Freight forward scams: how to spot and avoid them

Keep yourself safe from scammers when it comes time to sell your car.

How does a freight forwarding scam work?

A fake buyer (the scammer) will contact the seller through their ad. They'll want to buy the car right away, for the full asking price – without having seen it in person.
There'll usually be some elaborate back story about how they're based overseas for work, or for some other reason they can't view the car but are very keen to buy it. The car will need to be freighted to them, but they'll arrange this.
They'll send the seller a fake proof of payment (this might look like a PayPal receipt, or an internet banking confirmation). The amount they claim to have paid you will include the cost of freight – strange if they're the ones arranging the freight.
The scammer will then tell the seller that they need to pay the freight company, and provide details to do so. The catch is that the 'buyer' never paid the seller in the first place, there is no freight company, and the money is going to the scammer. The seller hasn't sold the car, and will likely never see the money again.