Altered odometers on Facebook Marketplace cars prompt EPS warning

An Edmonton man has been charged with fraud, with police saying he altered the odometers on used vehicles he was selling to take off thousands of kilometres.

Edmonton police are seeking people who may have purchased a car with a tampered odometer at an inflated price on Facebook Marketplace after an investigation that began mid-March.

Harmandeep Singh Bindra, 39, is accused of buying multiple high-mileage vehicles via Facebook Marketplace, changing the odometers to read hundreds of thousands of kilometres lower than their actual reading, then selling them at significantly higher prices through a fake account over the past year.

Edmonton Police Service (EPS) says buyers have also reported getting fake Carfax documents from Bindra.

He now faces charges of fraud and uttering a forged document.

At least two people have come forward about the fraud since an initial report on March 13, but police believe many more have likely bought an altered vehicle from Bindra since March of last year.

Bindra is known to buy and sell primarily Nissan Altimas, Honda Accords and Honda CRVs. He may also use aliases like Hary Smith, Harry Singh, Harmandeep Singh and Gurdev on fake Facebook accounts, EPS says.

Anyone who believes they may have bought a car from him can call EPS at 780-423-4567 or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.

EPS also offered tips on safely buying a used vehicle via a private seller:

• ask for proof of ownership and identification from the seller. Compare photo identification to the name on the vehicle’s registration document and make sure they are the same. Record the seller’s driver’s license number and contact information on the bill of sale.
• contact a registry agent or AMA to get a vehicle information report - this describes the vehicle’s registration history in Alberta.
• consider online services such as Carfax. Purchase this report on your own to ensure it has not been falsified. Also look for any noted colour changes and/or odometer discrepancies. Pay particular attention to a vehicle’s registration history. If the vehicle goes back and forth several times between provinces and/or states, it may be a clone.
• get a safety inspection of the vehicle from a vehicle inspection facility.
• keep detailed records of the transaction - retain original copies of bills of sale, registrations, service records etc.