A warning has been issued for a new scam on social media which peddles car detailing services to unsuspecting vehicle owners.
Scam vigilante Wayne, who has watched out for scam artists for more than a decade, says he’s not entirely sure of the endgame but believes it could be just an exercise in data harvesting.
“They’re not offering any specific details about who they are – a lot of them are actually hacked and stolen profiles,” Wayne told 9News of this latest swindle on his radar.
Some advertisements use photos stolen from legitimate companies.
While others contain sob stories about needing extra cash – such as a fake profile about a man whose wife has recently lost her job, or the 21-year-old “wanting to earn their own money to support their family”.
“They could potentially come and steal your car, they can take parts off your car,” Wayne said.
As the online scams grow, real car detailers say it’s a trend impacting their legitimate trade.
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“It really does give people like us a bad name because we’re sort of lumped into the same bucket,” car detailer David Kiss told 9News.
Real detailers say its not just scams people should be worried about though but also less reputable operators damaging cars.
“I have seen cases where people have used wheel gloss and actually put that on the inside of the car to make the plastics look good, but that actually burns skin off,” Kiss said.
Their advice to vehicle owners is to do your research.
Starting with an ABN check, then try reading google reviews and perhaps the most effective – a good old fashioned phone call.
“If you don’t feel comfortable with how they’re explaining it, definitely look for someone else,” Kiss said.
