How to spot scams when buying a car across a border
Most offers are genuine. The fake ones follow a handful of patterns, and each has a point at which you can walk away before any money moves. Here are the sentences that give them away, what to do instead, and where to report in Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
Three questions before any payment
Can I see the car the way I want to — in person, with a test drive and the original papers?
Is money supposed to move before I hold the car, the keys and the papers?
Does the money take a route other than straight to the seller — via an escrow agent, a shipping company, an account in someone else's name or abroad?
Every scam needs at least one of these departures. An honest sale needs none of them.
The scams — and how to recognise them
“The car is abroad”
What it sounds like
“I have been transferred for work, the car is already with me in …”
“I don't need it here any more — they drive on the left.”
What is behind it
A car you cannot look at may not exist at all; the photos often come from another listing. The story only explains why a viewing is not possible.
Instead
View it yourself or have a local garage of your own choosing look at it. Request a live proof with a random code. No money before you have seen the car and the papers.
“The shipping company brings it to you — on approval”
What it sounds like
“If you don't like it, the shipping company takes it back.”
“Just the deposit for transport in advance, around 2,000 euros.”
What is behind it
Neither the car nor the shipping company exists. The “shipping company's” website looks real, the legal notice is incomplete, the account belongs to a private person or is abroad.
Instead
Never pay a shipping company the seller suggests. If you need transport, book it yourself — after the purchase, with a company you chose yourself.
“You pay the escrow agent, I only get the money once you are satisfied.”
“The payment goes through the platform.”
What is behind it
The “escrow agent” is part of the scam: a company only recently set up, a new website, often half the price in advance. For a car purchase Carvexia offers no escrow or payment handling — anyone offering that in our name is offering something that does not exist.
Instead
Do not accept an escrow agent the seller proposes. Payment happens at handover, directly to the seller whose name you have seen on the ID and the papers.
“Lots of people have been in touch — whoever pays a deposit today gets it.”
“The reservation fee is deducted from the price.”
What is behind it
Time pressure and money before the viewing — that is the whole scam. After the payment, contact stops. Police and consumer centres warn about exactly this sequence.
Instead
No deposit before a viewing and test drive. If at all, then on site, after the viewing and against a signed contract with the seller's name and address.
“I don't reply here, better message me on WhatsApp.”
“My number: +44 …”
What is behind it
Moving to a messenger is on the warning lists of the police and Watchlist Internet: there is no marketplace report button there, and links to fake payment pages stand out less.
Instead
Stay with e-mail and the enquiry form and keep everything. A phone number is no proof of who is behind it.
Your copy can be used to order or open an account in your name. Conversely, a copy of someone else's ID proves nothing: scammers send stolen IDs of earlier victims to build trust.
Instead
No ID copy to strangers. Show your ID when you meet. If it cannot be avoided: mark it as a copy, with date and purpose, and black out what is not needed.
A price well below the market is information, not an opportunity: either the car has a fault you do not know yet, or it does not exist. Together with haste and a seller abroad, it is a pattern.
Instead
Compare with similar listings — the vehicle page shows where the price sits — and ask why. A good answer survives a viewing.
“Order directly from our online shop, delivery across the EU.”
“Payment in advance, then delivery.”
What is behind it
Scammers copy the names, photos and addresses of real dealerships. Warning signs: prepayment only, a missing or incomplete legal notice, an address that does not match the domain, a domain that has only just been registered.
Instead
Look the business up in the commercial register (Zefix for Switzerland, handelsregister.de for Germany, the Firmenbuch for Austria) and call a number you found yourself — not the one on the website. For a franchised dealer you can ask the manufacturer or importer.
“Transfer the customs fee and it will be released.”
“The shipping company still needs the import charges up front.”
What is behind it
An invented fee. Switzerland has charged no customs duty on cars since 1 January 2024; the vehicle tax and import VAT are assessed by the BAZG when the car is declared at a staffed customs post, with an official assessment. According to the BAZG, it never sends payment demands by e-mail or text message. Between Germany and Austria there is no customs clearance at all.
Instead
No “release fee” to sellers or strangers. You pay charges against the authority's assessment — yourself or through a forwarder you hired.
View it and test-drive it — yourself or through a garage or expert near the car whom you choose and hire yourself.
Look at the original papers: the registration documents (in Germany parts I and II). Compare the VIN in the papers with the one on the car, and the name in them with the seller's ID.
Pay at handover, one against the other: money for the car, all keys and the original papers. No prepayment and no deposit before the viewing.
Draw up a written contract, for example on a motoring club's template: the seller's name, address and ID number, the VIN, the mileage and the statements you rely on.
Look a dealer up independently: in the commercial register and under a phone number you found yourself.
Book the transport yourself if you need one — never pay a shipping company the seller proposes.
Request a live proof on Carvexia: three current photos with a random code. What it shows and what it does not is on the evidence page.
Fraud runs the other way too. The pattern: a buyer abroad who does not want to see the car, a payment that is supposedly on its way, and a shipping company that collects the car.
The forged payment confirmation
What it sounds like
“I've already paid, here is my bank's confirmation.”
What is behind it
Screenshot and e-mail are forged, often with a real bank logo. The money never arrives — the shipping company collects the car anyway.
Instead
Count only what has been credited to your account — checked in your banking app, not through a link. Hand over the car, keys and papers only then.
“Click here to receive the payment through Carvexia.”
What is behind it
A copied page asks for your card number and codes — for a debit, not a credit. Carvexia handles no payments for a car sale and sends you no links to receive money for a car.
Instead
Never enter card details to receive money. Open your banking app yourself instead of following a link.
A complaint can be filed at any police station. In several cantons certain online offences can also be reported online via Suisse ePolice. Emergency number 117.
Free help with a dispute with a trader in another country of the EU, Iceland or Norway — for consumers who live there themselves, through the centre of their home country (Germany: evz.de, Austria: europakonsument.at). Switzerland is not part of the network; residents of Switzerland can generally not use it. For fraud, the police remain responsible.
What Carvexia does — and does not do
Carvexia shows listings and forwards enquiries by e-mail. The contract is between you and the seller; Carvexia is not a party to it.
For a car purchase there is no escrow here, no payment handling and no reservation. Carvexia asks for no deposit and sends no payment links for a car.
Carvexia arranges transport only as part of import assistance — when you have requested it yourself and accepted its quote. If a seller offers transport “through Carvexia”, that offer does not come from Carvexia.
Carvexia inspects neither cars nor papers. What a seller states appears as stated by the seller. The evidence tools each show something specific — nothing more.
Report suspicious listings with “Report listing” on the vehicle page.
Frequently asked questions
Is escrow a good sign when buying a car across a border?
Not if the seller proposes it. In the known cases the supposed escrow agent is part of the scam and the money goes straight to the fraudster. Carvexia offers no escrow; payment happens at handover, directly to the seller.
Should I pay a deposit to have the car held for me?
Not before a viewing and test drive. Police and consumer centres advise against any prepayment to strangers. If at all, then on site and against a signed contract with the seller's name and address.
Where do I report fraud if I live in Switzerland?
With the police — at any police station, and in several cantons also online via Suisse ePolice for certain online offences. You can also report the incident voluntarily to the Federal Office for Cybersecurity (BACS). If you have already paid, call your bank first.
Can a European Consumer Centre help me if I live in Switzerland?
Generally not: the European Consumer Centres Network covers the EU, Iceland and Norway, and the centre in your country of residence is responsible. Switzerland is not part of it. For fraud, the police are responsible in any case.
Ongoing police warnings, among them about supposed buyers abroad, forged transfer confirmations and “fees” for releasing a payment. According to the police, ID copies, Swiss phone numbers and IBANs are no proof of identity.
In several cantons certain online offences can be reported online, such as goods paid for that never arrived. Which cases and which cantons is listed there; otherwise go to a police station.
Voluntary report of a cyber incident, also by private individuals. BACS replies with an assessment and recommendations; the report does not replace a criminal complaint.
The BAZG never sends payment demands by e-mail or text message and does not phone beforehand. Messages in its name asking for money should be ignored and deleted.
German police advice on buying a car online: no prepayment, money only when the car and its papers are handed over, caution with escrow and foreign accounts.
Collects and publishes scams, among them invented shipping companies and escrow agents in car sales, deposits of around 2,000 euros and the switch to WhatsApp. Takes reports and warns others.
Report “Buying a Car in another EU Country” (joint project 2015, summary of 29 February 2016): any form of prepayment is strongly discouraged. Helps with disputes with a trader, for consumers living in the EU, Iceland or Norway.
Warns about supposed escrow agents in cross-border car sales — in the case described, a company only a year old, a freshly set-up website and half the price in advance.
This page summarises warnings from the police, authorities and consumer centres. It is not legal advice. Reporting channels change; what each body states itself is what counts.
