26,967 complaints for cars that were never in anyone's possession
The FBI's IC3 recorded approximately 26,967 complaints and $54,032,396 in adjusted losses from fraudulent online vehicle sales between May 2014 and December 2017. The mechanism it describes is the one that still runs: a fake third-party buyer protection plan, an impersonated brand, and payment by gift card or wire for a vehicle that never arrives.
- Year
- 2018
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Ongoing
- Reported loss
- $54.0 million
- Victims
- 26,967
- Schemes
- Online vehicle purchase scams, Ticket and marketplace scams
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-07
The facts, as recorded
- The IC3 published the alert on 17 January 2018.
- From May 2014 through December 2017 the IC3 received approximately 26,967 complaints with adjusted losses of $54,032,396.
- Criminals post online advertisements for vehicles that are not, and have never been, in their possession.
- Scammers falsely promise the transaction will run through a third-party buyer protection programme, and supply fake toll-free numbers impersonating legitimate companies — eBay among those fraudulently claimed as a partner.
- Victims are directed to buy prepaid gift cards and share the codes with the perpetrator.
- The buyer is told the vehicle will arrive within a couple of days; afterwards the criminal ignores all contact or demands further payments, and the vehicle is not delivered.
- IC3 advises being wary of prices significantly below market value, researching the seller and their policies, insisting on in-person meetings and inspections for high-value purchases, and requesting the VIN, licence plate and the name of the current registration holder.
- It advises contacting a business directly rather than replying to a suspicious email.
Why this case matters
It is the oldest documented form of this scheme, and the mechanism it describes has not changed — only what gets impersonated.
Approximately $2,000 lost per complaint across 26,967 reports. That is far above the median for online shopping fraud, and far below the price of a car, which tells you something useful: most of these victims lost a deposit or a part-payment rather than the whole purchase price.
The fake buyer protection plan
The core deception is not the car. It is the safety mechanism.
A buyer who is nervous about sending money to a stranger for a vehicle they have not seen is offered exactly what they want: a third-party escrow or buyer-protection programme that will hold the money until the car arrives and is inspected. IC3 records fake toll-free numbers set up to impersonate the companies supposedly running it, with eBay among the brands fraudulently claimed as a partner.
So the victim’s caution is not overcome. It is answered — with a fabricated version of the protection they were right to want.
That is the single most transferable insight on this page. The most effective response to a hesitant buyer is not more pressure; it is a fake version of the reassurance they are asking for.
Gift cards, for a car
IC3 records victims being directed to buy prepaid gift cards and read out the codes.
Read that alongside the rest of this site and it is jarring — gift cards are the rail for $300 utility scams, not for vehicles. But it makes sense from the operator’s side: a fake escrow company has no bank account that can survive a fraud report, and gift card codes are irreversible and instantly resold.
It is also the clearest possible tell. No escrow service on earth is settled in gift cards.
What has changed since 2018
The impersonation target. In 2018 it was the transaction service — a fake eBay programme, a fake escrow company. By 2026 the FTC records scammers cloning entire dealership websites with AI.
The pretext moved from your money is protected to this is a real, established business, which defeats a different and more careful set of checks.
Where the number lives now
IC3 no longer publishes a vehicle category. These complaints fall inside Non-Payment/Non-Delivery, which recorded 56,478 complaints and $503,373,587 in 2025 — alongside every other undelivered purchase, from concert tickets to construction materials.
So the 2018 figure remains the most specific public measurement of vehicle sale fraud in the United States, and it stops at 2017. Nobody has published a current one.
Sources
- Fraudulent Online Vehicle Sales. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. Accessed 2026-09-07. Supports: The 17 January 2018 alert, the 26,967 complaints and $54,032,396 in adjusted losses for May 2014 to December 2017, the fake buyer protection plan, the impersonated brands and fake toll-free numbers, the gift card payment instruction, the non-delivery and all the recommendations.
- 2025 Internet Crime Report. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. Accessed 2026-09-07. Supports: The current Non-Payment/Non-Delivery totals of 56,478 complaints and $503,373,587 in 2025, the category that now records vehicle sales without breaking them out.