The BVRLA has been made aware of a spate of fraudulent activity, where scammers are advertising bogus vehicle leasing deals on social media and are extracting money from unsuspecting customers.
The BVRLA has been made aware of a spate of fraudulent activity, where scammers are advertising bogus vehicle leasing deals on social media and are extracting money from unsuspecting customers.
Using social media advertising, in particular Instagram, the scammers are posing as BVRLA members to lure in customers with advertising headlines targeting those with poor credit ratings.
The BVRLA will be launching a communications campaign to make people aware of the scam, to encourage vigilance and to ask people to think twice before responding to any adverts that promote vehicle leasing deals that require ‘No credit checks’, promote ‘No deposit’ and ask people to ‘Direct Message’ via text to get the deal.
The BVRLA is encouraging members to spread the word to help protect customers by sharing the following messaging:
"Unscrupulous fraudsters are scamming people with poor credit ratings, promoting bogus vehicle leasing deals offering ‘No credit checks’ and ‘No Deposit’."
"If you see a vehicle leasing advert that requires ‘No credit check’, BEWARE, it’s a scam."
"All legitimate BVRLA leasing broker members adhere to FCA rules and will carry out credit and affordability checks. Those who don’t, will not be legitimate traders and could be out to scam you."
To check whether a leasing broker is legitimately a BVRLA member, contact the BVRLA’s Adam Holt on [email protected].
The BVRLA has reported this emerging threat to the authorities and will continue to explore ways of increasing awareness to protect customers and BVRLA members.
