Used-car scam scanner

Call their bluff before you meet the seller.

Drop in a car listing link from Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or anywhere else. CarBluff pulls the ad, runs 20+ known scam checks against the link, the price, and the seller's own words, and hands you a straight 0–100 trust score. First scan is free.

Scan a listing See the checks

Run a scan

Paste the listing link. CarBluff pulls the ad, reads the price, year, and mileage out of it, and grades it.

Optional: sharpen the score
What you noticed (tick any that apply)
0/100
0 · LIKELY SCAM40 · HIGH RISK60 · CAUTION80+ · LOW RISK

Finish the job — 3 free manual checks

  • VIN: run it free at NICB VINCheck for theft and salvage records. No VIN from the seller = no deal.
  • Photos: reverse-search the ad photos with Google Lens. If they show up in another city or on a dealer site, it's fake.
  • Price: check the real value at KBB or Edmunds. 20%+ below market is the #1 scam tell.

CarBluff scores known scam patterns in what you paste. It cannot verify the physical car. Always inspect in person and never send money before you do.

How it works

Every scan runs the listing through the same playbook fraud investigators use, in about a second.

Link forensics

Is the domain the real marketplace or a look-alike? Masked short links, phishing domains, and off-brand "dealer" sites get flagged instantly.

Language analysis

Wire transfers, gift cards, shipping stories, deployment sob stories, "escrow protection", urgency pressure — the exact phrases scammers reuse, pattern-matched in the seller's own words.

Price & history sanity

Price vs. year, mileage vs. age, and your own market comparison. Deals priced to make you rush are priced to make you lose.

Pricing

A scan costs less than a coffee. A scam costs you the whole car.

First scan

$0 one-time

  • Full 20+ check analysis
  • Trust score + every flag
  • No account needed

Pay per scan

$0.99 / scan

  • Everything in free
  • Pay only when you shop
  • No subscription

Unlimited

$10 / month

  • Unlimited scans
  • Scan every candidate car
  • Cancel anytime

FAQ

Does CarBluff open the link itself?
Yes. Paste the link and our server pulls the listing and grades it. If a listing can't be opened automatically (some marketplaces block outside access), CarBluff asks you to paste the ad text instead — two taps: select all, copy — and the grade works exactly the same.
Can a listing score 100?
No — the ceiling is 96. No tool can certify a physical car sight-unseen, and anyone who says otherwise is selling you comfort, not safety. High scores mean "no known scam patterns found", not "guaranteed real".
What are the strongest scam signals?
1) A price well under market. 2) Any payment before you see the car — gift cards, wire, Zelle, crypto, "deposits to hold it". 3) A shipping/escrow story explaining why you can't meet. Any one of these alone should end the conversation.
Is my scan data stored?
The analysis runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you paste is uploaded or stored by us.