Holiday Shoppers Beware: Avoiding Fraud When Shopping Online With 10 Tips From AutoTrader.com

Holiday Shoppers Beware: Avoiding Fraud When Shopping Online With 10 Tips From
AutoTrader.com

ATLANTA, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- With the holiday season rapidly approaching,
more and more consumers will be turning to the Web to purchase gifts for
family and friends. According to the National Retail Federation(1), nearly
half of consumers plan to use the Internet to purchase holiday gifts this
year. But these shoppers need to be aware and prepared for a very real concern
when surfing the Web - online fraud.

In conjunction with International Fraud Awareness Week (November 8 to 14),
AutoTrader.com, the Internet's largest auto classifieds marketplace, is
setting out to help educate consumers on how to protect themselves when
shopping online.

"The Internet has made shopping easier than ever, even for high-ticket items
such as homes and vehicles," says renowned fraud prevention expert Sid
Kirchheimer, author of Scam Proof Your Life. "But with this increased
convenience comes a growing number of scams, especially during the busy
holiday shopping season, and there's a greater need for people to learn what
to look out for and how to protect themselves."

AutoTrader.com has partnered with Kirchheimer to help consumers learn how to
protect themselves from online fraud. The company is dedicated to providing
its visitors with a safe environment for shopping for new, certified
pre-owned, and used cars and sharing information on how to safely shop online
for any item.

Kirchheimer offers the following online fraud awareness tips when shopping
online for any item:

-- Research Prices. When researching cars and other big-ticket items for
sale online, similar items typically fall into a general price range.
If
one falls way below that range, be suspicious. Scammers use
ridiculously
low prices to lure consumers to their ads. If a deal seems too good to
be true, it probably is.

-- Don't Fall For Sob Stories. Beware of "act now" low-ball price offers
accompanied with a story that speaks of some hardship on the seller's
part - such as a soldier needing to sell a car quickly before being
deploying to Iraq, or a recent divorcee wanting to sell her husband's
belongings. These bogus ruses usually just empty your wallet, as the
items typically don't exist.

-- Don't Rush. A seller pushing to rush a transaction could be trying to
prey on a consumer's desire for the item.

-- Watch for "Scammer Grammar." Many scammers posting fraudulent ads are
based overseas, and English is not their native tongue. In online ads
or
in email correspondence, watch for frequent misspellings, misused
words
or other errors not likely to be made by someone fluent in English.

-- Make Phone Contact. Be suspicious of sellers who only want to
correspond by email - and are not willing to provide a telephone
contact
number.

-- No Wire Transfers! A wire transfer is the quickest way to lose money
-
especially if it's sent overseas, outside the jurisdiction of U.S.
officials. If buying a car or another large item locally, make an
in-person transaction with cash, money order or another method
sanctioned by a bank. If buying from a more distant seller, talk to a
bank or reputable escrow service about ways to safely conduct this
transaction.

-- Never Go Alone. When meeting a seller to look at a car or other
big-ticket items or to conclude the transaction, always go with a
friend
and, if possible, meet in a public place during the day.

-- Don't Go Off-Site. Many scammers cruise reputable online auction
sites,
but may entice you to go offline for a similar item. Others will email
a
link to another site, claiming that it is helping with the
transaction.
But once you leave a reputable site, your vulnerability to a financial
swindle or identity theft increases.

-- See the Product. Many scammers post ads for cars and other items that
don't even exist - they simply steal the pictures and descriptions
from
other sources. When buying any high-ticket item, insist that you see
it
in person, get proof it is owned by the seller and be able to have it
inspected before any money is exchanged.

-- Use Common Sense. If a shopping experience does not feel right, pay
attention to the warning signs and verify that the site and seller are
safe before proceeding with the transaction.

"It's easy to fall into a trap when shopping online if you're not prepared or
don't know what to look out for," said Keely Funkhouser, director of fraud
prevention strategies at AutoTrader.com. "But by following just a few simple
tips, consumers can be more confident and careful when using the Web to make
any online purchases."

To learn more about avoiding fraud when shopping, buying or selling online,
visit www.autotrader.com/fraudtips.

About AutoTrader.com

AutoTrader.com, created in 1997 and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is the
Internet's leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information
website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location millions of new cars,
used cars and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of auto dealers and
private owners. The site attracts about 15 million unique monthly visitors.
Through innovative merchandising functionality such as multiple photos,
videos, detailed descriptions and comprehensive research and compare tools,
AutoTrader.com unites new and used car buyers and sellers online to improving
the way people research, locate and advertise vehicles. AutoTrader.com is a
majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. The venture capital firm
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor. For more information,
please visit www.autotrader.com.

1) National Retail Federation 2009 Holiday Survey.
http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=Pages&sp_id=1130

SOURCE AutoTrader.com

Mark Scott, AutoTrader.com, +1-404-568-7905 404-440 (ph), +1-404-435-2047
(cell), mark.scott@autotrader.com; Laura Kelly, GolinHarris, +1-212-373-6005
(ph), +1-516-241-8259 (cell), lkelly@golinharris.com