Car imports from Korea - a scam

DO NOT BUY CARS ON TELEGRAM!

Friends, today's post will be harsh but important. Recently hundreds of Telegram channels have sprung up offering to import a car for you from abroad (Europe, USA, Korea) at prices 20-40% below the market. Sounds tempting? Of course! But in 99% of cases this is a financial scam, and you will be left with neither your money nor a car.

We analyzed dozens of exposés and real criminal cases. Here's how it works and why you should be cautious.

🚨 Typical scam scheme

1. Creating a channel. A pretty channel is created with names like "AutoPremium Import", "EvroAvto Prigon", "CarPride", "Import Way", etc.
2. Inflating the audience. Bots are bought (thousands of subscribers) and views are faked so the channel looks alive and popular. Comments are usually closed so victims can't message each other and warn one another.
3. The bait. You find the perfect car (for example, a BMW or Toyota) for a price 500 thousand rubles lower than dealers. That's the "hook".
4. Advance payment. A "manager" (often named Alexander or Irina) communicates with you. They send photos, documents, even a contract supposedly on behalf of a real LLC. To be convincing they ask for a small "advance for customs" or a "reservation". They ask you to transfer money to a private individual's card (this is the first red flag!).
5. Pressure to pay more. After the first payment, "problems" begin: the car is stuck at the border in Belarus, the recycling fee has increased, you urgently need to pay more for customs clearance or the car will be sold to someone else. The victim, fearing the loss of the already paid hundreds of thousands, transfers more and more.
6. Disappearance. When the money (sometimes up to 1.8 - 3 million rubles) lands in the scammers' accounts, the manager stops responding, and the channel is simply deleted or renamed after a few days.

📍 Real cases (so you understand the scale)

· Moscow, December 2025: A man found a Skoda Octavia in the channel "Car Import from the European Union". He transferred 1.8 million rubles. Customs confirmed the car was never imported. The channel was deleted.
· Krasnodar Krai, November 2025: A man wanted to buy a car as a wedding gift via the channel "EuroCar Import". He gave the scammers almost 3 million rubles, trusting fake reviews.
· Arkhangelsk, January 2025: A man transferred 730 thousand rubles for a customs fee to a Smolensk company. It turned out the real company sells spare parts and had no idea about this transaction.
· Projects Autoexpress, Grand Import Cars, Car Prigon: They all receive negative reviews from deceived clients. The scheme is the same: advance payment to a private individual's card, prices twice below market, closed comments and disappearance after receiving the money.

❗️ 7 signs of a fraudulent channel

If you see at least one item - run:

1. The price is much lower than market. Savings of 300-500 thousand rubles is not luck, it's the price of your gullibility. No one will operate at a loss. Sometimes the car's price is even lower than the recycling fee for it!
2. They ask for an advance payment to a private individual's card. Legal companies operate by bank transfer to a legal entity's settlement account. If the details in the contract are different from the manager's card number - it's 100% fraud.
3. Closed comments or only glowing reviews. Real buyers want to ask questions. If there's no feedback and all the "reviews" are videos from the admin, you're being duped.
4. No real legal entity. Before paying, check the LLC or individual entrepreneur on the Federal Tax Service website. If the company is listed as "wholesale trade in spare parts" rather than import services, or if the company's director knows nothing about the transaction - these are scammers using the company's details.
5. Urgency and time pressure. They rush you: "spots are running out", "the recycling fee will rise tomorrow", "two others want this car". Time pressure is a classic tactic.
6. The channel was created recently. If a six-month-old channel already has 40k subscribers and 15 positive video reviews - it's inflated. Reputation is built over years.
7. Use of an "agent's" name and passport. When they send you a photo of some "manager at the border" so you transfer money to his card, know that the passport may be stolen or simply a photo of another person.

✅ How NOT to get scammed?

· No advance payments! Pay for the car only after you actually receive it and check the VIN.
· Verify the company. Call the office on a landline, demand a contract with the legal entity's details.
· Consult brokers. Contact customs brokers directly (they have FCS licenses); they often provide verification services.
· Look for reviews on forums. Search not in Telegram (they delete them), but on independent car owner forums (Drom, Drive2, etc.) and review websites.

Protect your money and nerves! If you have already encountered this - immediately file a report with the police (at your place of residence or via the Ministry of Internal Affairs website).

Save this post and send it to anyone currently looking for a car. You may save their savings.