‘Dreams being tarnished’: Caravanning industry speaks out about fraudsters
The caravanning industry is speaking out against online fraudsters tarnishing the industry, as Australians continue to buy up caravans during the pandemic.
Buyers have been warned to look out for dodgy deals and scammers particularly online.
There were also reports of illegal websites popping up and scamming buyers, with images stolen from reputable dealers.
CEO of Caravanning Queensland Jason Plant said there was a lot more people getting into caravanning in the past 2 years, and more product coming from overseas.
“Like anything when there is a demand when something’s popular, unfortunately you get unscrupulous individuals who jump in and try and take advantage of those individuals who are trying to get into the industry,” he told Sofie Formica.
“It’s really unfortunate because people’s dreams are being tarnished as well.”
He said they’ve received complaints from consumers in the past few weeks, who have been caught up in illegitimate websites.
He said there were also reports of people selling off stolen caravans privately too.
Press PLAY below to hear his tips to avoid scammers
Olivia Cameron from New Age Caravans told Sofie they had seen a lot more scamming recently, and the scams were quite sophisticated.
Her dealership has also been targeted.
“The scammers are scraping motor dealer imagery and company logos, generating false invoices to try to lure the customer to put the deposit down on a caravan that doesn’t exist.”
She said generally, people had lost around $3000-$5000.
Press PLAY below to hear her explain more
Image: Getty iStock