The Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer alert on Tuesday related to fraudulent online dealership listings, which Point Predictive chief fraud strategist Frank McKenna described in vivid detail more than a year ago.

The FTC described a similar strategy that McKenna mentioned, with officials saying in their alert, “Scammers set up bogus car dealership websites to trick you into paying up front for a car you’ll never lay hands on.

“They clone a real auto dealer’s website — often using AI to do so — copying the brand logos, vehicle listings, and photos down to the last detail. Some websites even include fake customer testimonials,” the FTC continued.

In this industry commentary about these phantom dealerships, McKenna explained how fraudsters use details from well-known dealership service providers to dupe consumers.

“The scam starts when criminals create a website or social media profile claiming to be a legitimate dealership. After they make the website, they steal legitimate listings from other dealerships or create new ones using stock photos,” McKenna wrote.

“Sometimes, those vehicle listings are scraped from legitimate platforms like Carfax and Autotrader, with prices set deliberately below market value — typically 10-30% lower to create urgency while remaining believable,” he continued.

“To make the scam more believable, the fraudsters will add false verification elements like fake Trustpilot ratings and fabricated customer reviews. Those reviews make the website even more authentic and are often undetectable to the human eye,” McKenna added.

And now the money part comes into play.

“Once an interested buyer is on the hook, scammers will employ high-pressure tactics, claiming other buyers are interested and pushing for wire transfers or cryptocurrency payments,” McKenna wrote.

“Once payment is received, however, all contact is severed, and the websites often vanish within days,” he went on to say.

With so much of the car business happening online nowadays, the FTC suggested that consumers take an old-school, in-person approach.

“Keep in mind that if the scammers are impersonating a real dealership, you might find glowing reviews. So go the extra mile — ask to see the car, and the dealership, in person. If they won’t let you, pump the brakes,” the FTC said in its alert.

“If the car is too far for you to visit in person, tell the dealer you want to hire a mobile inspection service to check out the car. If they won’t let you, consider taking your business somewhere else,” the FTC went on to say.