20/11/07

SUBJECT: FRAUD ALERT FOR ALL UK MOTOR DEALERS

RECEIVED FROM SYTNERS

THIS IS A FRAUD ALERT TO ALL UK MOTOR DEALERS TO ACTION ... NOW

Watch out for a company (supposedly London based) called Automatch UK Ltd.

You may receive a call from this company making you a trade offer for a car you have advertised for sale, normally saying that they have a customer for it. When they have agreed a price with you (normally a price you are pleased with to make the deal sound appealing), they will offer to pay you there and then over the telephone by debit card and arrange to send a driver to your dealership to collect the vehicle, generally the next day.

When the driver arrives to collect the car, dealers are presuming that because the money is showing as cleared on your bank account, it is safe to release the vehicle... it is not!

The debit cards that this company is using are stolen. Usually by the time that the owner of the card realizes, the fraud has been committed. The bank can then recall the money from the dealer... you are not covered unless the customer presents the card to you in person. Telephone transactions can be reversed in cases of fraud of this nature

Very recently one of our southern based users lost 3 cars to the trade value of ­£20,250:

BMW 325SE Touring in topaz blue (HG02 RVU)
Ford KA style in pepper red  (HX02 DZE)
Peugeot 206 Allure Coupe convertible in moonstone silver (HV53 FYF)

We have had another report this morning (13th November) of another approach from this company trying to defraud one of our subscribers but was discovered just in time.

Remember the name.....Automatch UK Ltd

Remember the method.....paying for trade cars by debit card

Remember.....you are not covered against fraudulent use for debit card transactions taken over the telephone

If you are approached by this company or anyone who sounds like this company ... call your local police immediately.

Don't let anybody you know in the motor trade get caught in this scam ... fellow dealers have lost tens of thousands ...these people could be trying to scam you as you are reading this email ... don't forget only a couple of hours ago they were nearly successful again