Which? began investigating this case in November 2023, when we helped a victim recover £3,000. They had paid for a car that was never delivered after clicking on an Instagram ad.
We then learned that the criminals were impersonating a genuine company based in Essex, having stolen its name, company number and other details from Companies House.
The director of the impersonated firm endured months of anguish. He received regular calls from further victims and even discovered a county court judgement (CCJ) intended for the scammers had been filed against his business.
Instagram's parent company, Meta, failed to remove the profile when challenged by Which?, and the scammers have now rebranded the same profile to impersonate another genuine firm, leaving its owners distraught.
Read on to find out more about what we found and how you can avoid similar car leasing scams.
undefined'An Instagram advert lured me in'
undefined
Copycat scam unfoldsFind out more:
Scammers rebrand
The fraudulent Instagram profile briefly went down (we're unclear whether Instagram or the scammers themselves were responsible), but it wasn't permanently banned from the platform, despite being reported to parent company Meta by both Mr Gale and Which?. When we contacted Meta about the profile, it told Which? it wouldn't comment.
When we checked in with the legitimate director several weeks later, they described feeling 'powerless' and were distraught to be receiving contact from victims of the scam – just as Mr Gale had months before when his firm was being impersonated.
We think all online advertising services should ensure there is a real business or individual linked to that business using its platform.
We want the government to allow industry access to its data. This would allow the legitimacy of a company or person seeking to reach consumers at scale through something like paid advertising to be verified. An example of data already being used in a similar way is TikTok and Google using FCA data to check if an investment firm is regulated.
Spot and avoid car leasing scams
*name changed
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/instascam-car-leasing-scam-victims-reveal-instagram-impersonation-nightmare-aXbr45z4Rm4E