How to avoid fraudsters when buying a car online PayPal If you are uneasy about an email purporting to come from PayPal send it to spoof@paypal.com. Log into your own PayPal account and check any messages. PayPal's customer service line is on 0800 3587911. Often such fraudulent communications style PayPal's name wrongly or are otherwise of low quality - although if it is right that won't be proof the email is genuine. PayPal adds that one of the ways in which you will know the email is not from PayPal is when it uses a generic greeting like "Dear user" or "Hello, PayPal member." It tells me it always addresses customers by their first and last name or the business name in the PayPal account. For details of PayPal's protection policies see www.paypal.co.uk , click on help, and then find the PayPal "safety advice" tab on the top. However remember there is no PayPal seller or buyer protection for cars or other vehicles including horseboxes. Money Transfers Avoid money transfer services such as Western Union or MoneyGram when sending money in such circumstances to people you do not know. Think Consumer Credit Act Paying with a credit card, if a viable option, can make the bank jointly and severally liable for purchases worth between £100 and £30,000 where there has been misrepresentation or breach of contract. Remember that you only need to pay a proportion with the card for the bank to be caught up with the transaction. Check with your card provider. Be aware that, given the nature of such a transaction being unusual, after all most people don't regularly buy vehicles, there are likely to be extra security checks for those paying in this way. Don't be lured into presuming a website is based in the UK Just because a website address ends .co.uk or .com doesn't mean it is in the UK. If buying or selling online check there is a bona fide address shown, try the phone number and look for feedback on the seller via a search engine. View any high ticket item first View before paying. Ideally meet at the seller's home or business premises. Well-informed scrutiny could be crucial At the extreme end, one acquaintance recalls buying a car that went for two miles and then stopped. On opening the bonnet she found sawdust in the gearbox. Another trick she has reported on is putting a certain type of oil in the engine to cushion the sound of a vehicle which would normally sound like something in a fairground. With the possibility of such goings-on, if cars and so on are not your area of expertise, consider getting someone in the know to look at any vehicle you are thinking of buying from anywhere other than a reputable dealership. Possibly get an independent condition report. Have a test drive. Research the vehicle's history For a fee a car checker service will run the car number through its computers to verify vehicle identity, outstanding finance and whether, for example, it is stolen. One such firm is HPI on www.HPIcheck.com or 01722 422 422 or 0845 300 8905. HPI data shows that one in 33 vehicles checked by HPI in 2012 was an insurance total loss - otherwise known as a write-off. More than 350 vehicles a day are revealed by HPI to have a mileage discrepancy. Don't be hurried Be very suspicious of ploys to get you to complete such a transaction sooner than is sensible. Where to get advice if things go wrong If a vehicle is proved to have been unroadworthy at the time of sale or where information given turns out to have been demonstrably untrue, and if you haven't paid in such a way that the bank may give you redress, consult the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 08454 04 05 06 or the Money Advice Service on 0300 500 5000 about your options. However bear in mind that someone caught out by downright fraud is likely to be left holding the tab themselves. For tips about online scams try www.getsafeonline.org.