The theft of $77,300 from a would-be Lexus GX 550 buyer in Georgia proves scammers can establish fake dealerships and communicate with consumers with an alarming degree of sophistication.

Autoblog News Editor Leroy Marion says the devil is in the details in the Georgia case. Scammers closed the “deal” with a week’s worth of convincingly constant contact.

“The scammer provided photos, documentation and ongoing communication that mirrored a legitimate sales process,” Marion writes. “These are no longer crude phishing pages. Fraudsters are now building full replicas of dealership websites, complete with inventory listings, staff profiles and even AI-generated reviews. The result is a near-seamless illusion that is catching even cautious buyers off guard.”

A recent report from Upstream blamed generative AI and large language models for doubling the rate of ransomware attacks in the automotive and mobility industries.

Read more at Autoblog