Our inventory photos are on another dealer site
This is a documented and growing pattern: fraudsters build convincing replicas of real dealership websites - inventory, staff profiles, AI-generated reviews - on near-name domains, then solicit irreversible wire or crypto payment for vehicles that never ship. State consumer-protection authorities have issued alerts, and security researchers have cataloged 200+ such sites.
What to do
- Document first - screenshot the page with its URL and date before anything changes.
- Report the infrastructure in parallel - the host and registrar abuse desks (via ICANN lookup), and Google Safe Browsing so browsers warn buyers before they pay.
- Use copyright where it fits - your inventory photos and listing text are your copyrighted works; a DMCA notice removes copied assets cleanly.
- File with IC3 and your state - ic3.gov; the impersonated dealership's report carries weight and connects the pattern.
The reliable rule for buyers
Confirm the dealership independently - search its name and phone number separately - and never wire money or send crypto for a vehicle you have not seen in person. Our free dealer-site check looks at a page's signals for you, no email needed.
Common questions
Q: How fast do these come down? A: Safe Browsing flags in hours; host and registrar action in days. The buyer warning on your own site protects people immediately, in the meantime.
Q: Can we recover a buyer's wired money? A: Wire and crypto are usually irreversible - which is why detection and buyer warnings matter more than recovery. Have affected buyers file IC3 reports.
Q: How do we find clones early? A: Near-name domains appear at certificate issuance, before the scam runs. A free scan is the starting snapshot; daily monitoring watches continuously.
Check your own dealership now. The free scan looks for cloned replicas using your name, inventory, or listings - no account, private report. Continuous monitoring: Dealer Watch from $29/month.
Related answers
- A buyer wired money to a fake version of our dealership
- Dealership impersonation monitoring - what it is and who needs it
- A fake website is impersonating our dealership
Dealer Watch provides monitoring assistance, not legal advice. Findings are similarity signals that require your confirmation - they are not accusations about any website. Where an external service has flagged a page, we cite that flag; we never make such claims ourselves.