Digital fraud is a growing problem throughout Australia and across the world, and the caravan industry is not immune.
From fake dealer sites to fraud in the Google display network, brand impersonation, and Facebook account hacks. In this article, we’ll guide you through the many approaches scammers are using to get away with fraud and offer some advice to help prevent you from falling victim.
Over the last decade, fraud dealers have developed into a major problem in the industry. These dealerships pop up online with fake websites and fake listings to swindle a few deposits before shutting up shops, only to repeat the process a few months later. Below are just a few of the fake dealer sites we have found in the last two years.
Although their websites may appear legitimate, there are a few common tactics that fraudulent dealers employ that you can keep an eye out for.
Fraud dealers will almost always target prestige brands and big names like Jayco, as these are the brands that get the most searches online, and which potential buyers are always looking to make a deal on. In the photo above, the Jayco brand name is called out several times on the home page of the website, with all of the featured models also being Jaycos.
Fraud dealers look for the path of least resistance, and reused content is one of the dead giveaways that you’re dealing with a fraud site. The photo above looks identical to the first one we showed, with the exception of the business name (Cracking Campers instead of AR Campers and Caravans) and a few featured models. These sites were likely run by the same scammer at different points in time, although occasionally fraud sites will overlap – so if you ever see the same design or content used across two sites, steer well clear of them both.
Another favourite trick of fraud dealers is to steal photos from legitimate dealers, private listings, or photos that owners have shared online. Sometimes it is obvious, such as in the example above, where two of the listings clearly show Jayco dealership signage in the background, despite the site purporting to be its own dealership.
Even when the fraudsters have taken care not to include any such dead giveaways, it is clear when you’re looking at stock on a fraud site that all the photos have been taken in different locations, usually with no consistency of presentation. Compare this to a legitimate dealership, which will usually have one spot in the yard that they use to photograph all their stock, as well as a consistent style and number of photos presented with each listing.
Something we have noticed while keeping tabs on fraud dealers over the years is that they will often have multiple addresses listed on their contact page, and usually in different states. This is done to aid in another aspect of the scam, whereby the fraudulent dealer will take an enquiry and then claim that the caravan in question is in another state – but don’t worry, they can arrange delivery!
Luckily, it only takes about five seconds to verify a false address on Google Maps, which is why we can say with confidence that Cracking Campers probably isn’t based in Derby, given that one of its listed addresses is currently home to an air conditioning business.
As we’ve seen, fraudulent dealers are a disaster for customers and businesses alike, which is why it’s so important that we all remain vigilant in order to stamp them out as quickly as possible. With that said, steps are being taken to try and minimise their impact.
Perhaps the most important of these is that Google has started rolling out advertiser verification, which requires all advertisers to undergo a verification process in order to continue using the platform. Although this process is ongoing and likely to be slow, at the very least, it will help lower the cost of advertising for genuine businesses, as they will no longer be competing with fraudulent advertisers.
While fraud will remain an issue wherever there is money to be made, we can all do our part to disrupt fraudsters by learning the telltale signs of a fraud dealer and reporting them as soon as they emerge. The ACCC is currently keeping a close eye on fraud in the caravan industry, and any suspected fraudulent sites should be reported through Scamwatch, and also reported to the Caravan Industry Association of Australia.
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