Electric Vehicle Dealership Booking Scam on social media

How it looks on social media, the red flags and what to do.

Social media scams use real-looking profiles, reels, ads and direct messages. The account may look old, and the comments may be bought. Electric Vehicle Dealership Booking Scam is one of the ways this shows up: A deal on a popular electric scooter or car asks for a booking amount from a fake dealer or copied site. See how EV buyers lose money before delivery.

What electric vehicle dealership booking scam looks like on social media

• A comment thread full of identical "thank you" replies.
• A direct message from a stranger, a "brand" or a "recruiter".
• A giveaway that asks you to pay a small fee or share a code.

The scammer copies the brand's website and a showroom address, and runs ads that promise delivery in days instead of months. A friendly 'sales executive' sends a brochure and a price list with a subsidy discount. The buyer is invited to pay a booking amount through a link or a UPI ID and receives a polished receipt, often with a booking number that looks real.

Red flags to check on the social media message

• Immediate delivery of a vehicle with a long waiting list.
• A booking amount sent to a personal account or an unfamiliar payee name.
• A website address that is slightly different from the brand's official one.
• A discount or subsidy that expires tonight.
• A stranger moves the chat to WhatsApp or Telegram.
• A prize needs a payment or a code first.

What to do

1. Visit the real showroom or book through the brand's official website typed by hand.
2. Check the payee name before paying, and pay only to the brand or dealer's business account.
3. Ask the dealership to confirm the booking in its own system.
4. If you paid, call 1930 and keep screenshots of the chat and the payment.
5. Do not pay, share codes or move to another app.
6. Check the account: when it was created, who follows it, and whether the real brand links to it from its own website.

Use Report on the profile, post or ad. If money was lost, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in with the website, chats and payment ids.
2. Tell your bank on the number printed on your card and ask about holding the transfer.
3. Inform the brand's official support so it can take action against the fake site.
4. File a written complaint at the police station with the receipt and chat.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Safeavio's link check can look at the booking page link you paste and warn about lookalike domains, the QR check shows where a payment QR goes before you pay, and the scam check marks the immediate-delivery promise and the tonight-only offer. It cannot verify a dealership's authorisation, so confirm the booking with the brand directly. Always confirm with the showroom.

Full guide: Electric Vehicle Dealership Booking Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: WhatsApp, phone call, email.

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