BUYERS of second hand cars advertised on websites are being warned to beware of a new scam involving the use of false vehicle registration numbers.
These days consumers can now find a lot about a car they are interested in buying by putting the vehicle’s registration number into a free Government website, including information on a vehicle’s mileage and condition.
This has led some sellers of dodgy vehicles to remove or obscure the licence plate of the cars they are selling on photographs posted on the Internet.
One Warwickshire resident expressed an interest in a vehicle that was being sold on a popular Internet classified advert website.
The vehicle was shown without the number plates visible, so the buyer contacted the seller to ask for the registration number.
The seller gave them this and the buyer carried out a range of free and low cost checks on the vehicle.
Satisfied with the result he paid for the vehicle online and went to collect the car.
When he arrived it turned out the the seller had given him a registration number for another vehicle of the same make/model, but not the one he had purchased.
This car, the one he had paid for, was in very poor condition with a high mileage!
Trading Standards advise consumers to be wary of buying vehicles without seeing them first and be suspicious of any advert where the licence plate of the vehicle cannot be seen affixed to the vehicle.
The new ‘check before you buy’ free web tools are now an important weapon in a car buyer’s armoury to protect them against buying vehicles in a poor state that may be clocked or even unroadworthy. Some additional low cost checks can also help ensure that the car is not stolen or on finance.
Make a scam/rogue trader complaint to Trading Standards via on 03454 040506.
Make a scam/rogue trader complaint to Trading Standards via Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 040506.
Warwickshire Trading Standards Website Facebook Twitter
Sign up to scam alerts at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams
4th Jun, 2026
