possible scam... implications and to minimise impact

[Trikster]

not to sure where to post this but seems as good a place as any

My father has just sold his old car via ebay - nothing expensive, pleased with winning bid of just over £3k

In the ad he asked for deposit of £250 within 24hours if car couldn't be collected in that time frame which he'd seen on other ads

He exchanged a number of messages with the winning bidder, among others, prior to end of auction asking a bit more re history and a couple of faults declared on the car that if ok to collect on Friday if they won, all very reasonable

After winning contacted buyer to arrange things and payment of deposit. Buyer asked for account details, again as expected, and then a copy of some sort of id to prove he was who he said he was.......

So, father sent a pic of his driving licence...........

OK, buyer then responded saying he'd get payment over this morning (that was still within 24hrs) and he thought nothing more - well that time has been and gone and no reply to messages to the 'buyer' so I think he's possibly been scammed (he's not particularly worried given all the detailed non-generic questions about the car that were asked before the auction finished but knowing how clever the scammers are I'm not so sure)

So, ultimate question is, what's the things we can do to prevent/keep an eye out for any fraud on the back of them having the photo and his account details (fortunately that's a bank account he hardly uses and has very little money in it, though other accounts with same bank with more substantial deposit)

I've tried cancelling his licence but the DVLA website says it can't access records at the moment and to try again in 24hours....

[limpsfield]

I think you might be over reacting. It could be just another useless Ebay bidder.

If there's not much money in the account I wouldn't worry.

Perhaps as a caution just warn your dad to be wary of any phonecalls he gets from "his" bank.

But my money is on buyer's remorse.

[Blue_star]

Just keep track of credit history in case they try to open credit card. Even if they do your father would receive letter at home so highly unlikely

[PoorCarCollector]

If it is a scam, which on the face of it seems unlikely, it wont be against your dad, it'll be harvesting his info, to then con someone else with an advert using all the info, pics etc and then your dads ID to get money from a victim. This is very common

Nothing can be done about it now, so don't worry about it!

Edited by PoorCarCollector on Tuesday 5th August 07:37

[Halitosis]

Not so much a scam (yet) but might be collecting data so as to commit identity fraud hereafter - using the ID, bank details and driving licence to perhaps apply for finance, Klarna, loans or the like.

[Simpo Two]

Trikster said:

So, father sent a pic of his driving licence...

That would have had my alarm bells ringing.

Seller just needs to pay and collect the car.

Halitosis said:

Not so much a scam (yet) but might be collecting data so as to commit identity fraud hereafter - using the ID, bank details and driving licence to perhaps apply for finance, Klarna, loans or the like.

I suspect so.

[Terminator X]

They can set up loans in his name can't they with his account details?

TX.

[Trikster]

Thank all, deposit finally paid so all OK

Was probably over thinking it but it was sharing the full driving licence that got me thinking

Anyway, car being picked up at the end of the week and hopefully we’ll get treated to a meal out on the proceeds

[hidetheelephants]

Weird thing for a buyer to ask for. Not something that I've encountered but obtaining ID for nefarious purposes is definitely a common scam.

[Pit Pony]

hidetheelephants said:

Weird thing for a buyer to ask for. Not something that I've encountered but obtaining ID for nefarious purposes is definitely a common scam.

I once asked a seller on eBay if he was selling his Dad's car, following his unfortunate death, whether it would be possible to see the death certificate or copy of probate and confirm that he was the executor of the estate.
I got back a stream of expletives.

I did this because the week before I'd bid on the same car, the auction of which was won by the new vendor with a buy it now price some 50% higher.

If he subsequently sold it, it wasnt recorded as a sale on Ebay.