FTC Warns Car Buyers: Fake Dealer Websites Take Your Money And Leave You With No Car

The Federal Trade Commission is warning that scammers are cloning legitimate dealership websites, using real vehicle photos, logos and listings to convince shoppers they are dealing with an actual dealer.

The buyer pays. The car never arrives.

In a consumer alert issued Sept. 1 , the FTC said scammers are building bogus dealership sites, sometimes using artificial intelligence, that can look remarkably convincing. Some copy a real dealer’s branding, vehicle listings and photographs down to the details. Others feature fake testimonials or advertise rare muscle cars and hard-to-find classics, exactly the kind of vehicle that can tempt a buyer to move quickly before someone else grabs it.

The scam becomes especially dangerous when the fake “dealer” asks for payment before the buyer has physically seen the vehicle. A shopper can send thousands of dollars and then discover that the legitimate dealership has no record of the transaction and no car waiting for them. That’s what makes the scheme particularly nasty.

A skeptical shopper might search the dealership online, find positive reviews, a real street address, a legitimate business history and conclude everything checks out. But those reassuring details may belong to the business being impersonated - not to the crooks asking for the money.

Warning arrives amid a sharp rise in impersonation fraud

FTC data released in June show consumers reported losing $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, nearly three times the amount reported in 2020. Nearly $1 billion was lost to business impersonators alone. Across all types of fraud, consumers reported losses of roughly $16 billion in 2025, an increase of about 25% from 2024.

The FTC recommends searching the dealership’s name along with words such as “scam,” “review” or “complaint.” But that alone may not be enough. If criminals are impersonating a legitimate dealership, the glowing reviews a buyer finds online may actually belong to the real business.

The agency says buyers should ask to see both the vehicle and dealership in person. If distance makes that impractical, buyers can tell the seller they want an independent mobile inspection service to examine the car. A refusal should be a major warning sign.

Payment method matters too. The FTC says buyers should walk away if a supposed dealer insists on upfront payment by wire transfer only. In a separate FTC warning issued in July, the agency said consumers reported more than $4 billion in scam losses paid through bank transfers and cryptocurrency in 2025, payment methods that can make recovering stolen money particularly difficult.

Online car shopping has made it possible to find a dream vehicle hundreds or thousands of miles away. It has also given scammers a much bigger showroom. If the dealership looks real, the car looks real and the deal looks real, verify all three before sending a dollar.

Above all, never be in a hurry if you can help it when buying a car.

By Josh Max, Contributor