Buying a car is one of the biggest purchases we make, and more people are turning to online marketplaces for deals on used cars. But thanks to artificial intelligence, you’re more likely than ever to get scammed.
A recent report from AuthenticID found that nearly 5% of all automotive transactions were fraudulent. CBS News California Investigates correspondent Julie Watts looked into what’s being done to protect car buyers.
Pulling up to his parents’ house in Orange County in January 2024, Andrew Arenas never expected to be greeted like this. At 18 years old, Arenas was ordered face down on the asphalt at gunpoint, then cuffed by law enforcement officials.
His brother captured it all on his cell phone.
“This is my first time in my life ever being handcuffed, and I hope for it to be the last,” Arenas told Watts.
Arenas said officers eventually told him that his car was reported stolen.
“I’m just like, what? I remember looking at them and almost just making that face like, ‘I’m sorry, this doesn’t seem right.’ Just complete confusion,” he said.
Arenas bought his dream car on Facebook Marketplace for $4,500 and spent thousands more on parts and upgrades. He had the title and registered the vehicle with the DMV with no problem.
As of the time we spoke to Arenas, the Facebook Marketplace listing for his vehicle was still up.
We’ve been investigating online car scams for years. Consumer advocate Rosemary Shahan warns that online car scams are more common and more sophisticated than ever.
“AI, I think, takes it to a whole new level,” she said.
AI isn’t just changing how we buy cars. It’s changing how criminals sell them.
Even Shahan was surprised when we showed her how AI can be used to create a fake car title.
“That is a very scary concept that you could even get a car with a pink slip, with a title, and it’s not legit,” she said.
How can tech companies protect consumers from scams?
Paul Taske is a lawyer for NetChoice, which represents the tech industry. NetChoice successfully sued California, blocking a law that would have required online marketplaces to better track high-volume sellers. It was intended to combat organized retail theft rings selling stolen products online.
“If the state wants to take action to actively protect consumers who are the victims of these online retail crimes, they should go after the bad actors,” Taske said.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the state is appealing the NetChoice ruling, but he thinks the online marketplaces can do even more.
“They can use AI the opposite way,” Bonta said. “Instead of for nefarious purposes, they can use it to enforce the law to identify potential violations of law and flag it and freeze it.”
Shahan hopes lawmakers are listening. As for Arenas, he hopes his heartbreak serves as a warning that in the age of AI, a “perfect” car can be a perfect fake.
We reached out to Meta to ask about the sale of stolen cars on Facebook Marketplace. A spokesperson told us they encourage users to report any suspicious behavior and pointed out that they do offer some amount of purchase protection.
We took a look at that policy on their website, and it turns out, vehicles are not included.
