Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Col Hameed Ali, has been advised by automobile dealers to fight the spread of on-line vehicle sale scam.
The dealers who spoke with our correspondent last week disclosed that there is an increasing number of online fraud, under the guise of vehicle sales and there is need for customs to seek collaborations with some communication organisations to put an end to it.
Speaking with Auto Port Weekly in Lagos, last week, Chairman, Chuxx Morris Automobile, Mr. Charles Nwachukwu said the rate at which on- line car fraud has become more alarming in the last few weeks.
Nwachukwu said that, “there was a drop in the activities of on line scam on used cars, but all of a sudden the practice became rampant again and people are falling for it”
“We are appealing to the customs to do something about it, because it is their platform that the hackers are using to dupe innocent Nigerians.
According to him, there is proliferation of fake customs social media platform, where Nigerians are duped on the pretence of car sales.
The automobile dealer called on customs to partner telecommunication and communication companies on how address fraudulent on line car sales.
Auto Port Weekly was also told about how the online car fraud has affected sale of vehicles in the market.
Speaking also, an importer, Kelvin Uyi said that customs have not put in place measures to tackle the online scam, saying that there are many fraudulent platforms where cars are ‘sold’ under the guise of auction.
He said cars auctioning via customs platforms on the internet should be ignored by prospective buyers, adding that it is not advisable to buy cars through any customs page or Facebook account.
Auto Port Weekly also confirmed a customs officer (name withheld) facebook page used for auction which has the following information:
“NIGERIA CUSTOMS (NATIONAL AUTHORIZED CAR AUCTIONS/ SALES) FOR 2016 HAS COMMENCED WE HAVE DIRECT TOKUNBO CARS VERY CLEAN AND BRAND NEW CARS FOR SALE AT CHEAPER PRICES. ”
“These cars were seized by government officials at border and the time duration given to the owners to claim their cars has elapse, so they are being sold at a give-away price.”
“All you need do is to Call ON (07067790782 to place an order of your choice. ”
“WE ALSO HAVE REQUITMENT FORM AVAILABLE FOR BSC, DIPLOMA, OND,HND E.T.C CAR FEATURES BELOW:
Prices of some tokunbo Toyota cars” • Toyota Land Cruiser-#650,000 • Toyota Prado -#630,000 • Toyota Corolla –#400,000 • Toyota Camry – from-#300,000-to-#570,000 • Toyota Avensis – from#400,000-to-#600,000 • Toyota Yaris – #500,000 • Toyota Avanza – #550,000 • Toyota RAV4 SUV –#750,000 • Toyota Hilus Pickup-#800,000 • Toyota Dyna Truck – #700,000 • Toyota Hiace Bus – #750,000 • Toyota Coaster Bus 32 seaters –1.1m Prices of some Peugeot Cars Peugeot c230 #400,000 C300 #500,000 Peugeot 307- #300,000 prices of some Honda cars Honda Civic cars – #450,000 Honda Accord – #530,000 Honda CR-V – #650,000 Honda Odyssey – #650,000 Honda CR-V – #600,000 Honda Pilot – #640,000 Prices of some Nissan cars • Nissan Sunny sedan – #750,000 • Nissan Patrol SUV – #800,000 • Nissan Civilian 30 seater bus – #800,000 • Nissan Pathfinder SUV – #450,000 INFINITY FX35 N840,000 AUDI Q7 N770,000. A6 N440,000. GOLF1 N180, 000. GOLF2 3,N250, 000. GOLF4, N300,000 AND ETC. MODEL/YEAR OF MANUFACTURE.1996 t0 2012 INTERIOR.LEATHER AND FABRIC AC
When Auto Port Weekly called the number, a man picked the call, but later cut it, after asking for the identity of the caller. He refused to answer questions about the cars that are purportedly for auction.
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