Is it safe to give a car buyer your licence and bank details?
Key takeaways
- A licensed dealer will usually ask for photo ID to confirm you own the car, and your account name, BSB and account number to pay you. A private buyer doesn't need a copy of your licence.
- No buyer ever needs your banking password, PIN, a one-time code, your card number or remote access to your phone.
- Look up a business buyer's dealer licence and ABN yourself, and send your details only through contact details you found yourself, not ones in a message.
- Sent details to someone you now doubt? Call your bank, then IDCARE on 1800 595 160, and ask the agency that issued your licence what to do.
Yes, as long as you’ve checked who the buyer is and you share only what the sale needs. A licensed dealer will usually ask for photo ID to confirm you own the car, and your account name, BSB and account number to pay you. No buyer, dealer or private, ever needs your banking password, PIN, a one-time code or your card number.
Sellers ask this question on review sites for online car-buying services, and it’s a fair one to ask before you send anything. Below is why each detail is needed and what a private buyer and a dealer can fairly ask for. Then comes how to check the buyer, how to send documents without oversharing, and what to do if you’ve already sent them to someone you now doubt.
Why would a car buyer want your licence?
To make sure the person selling the car is the person entitled to sell it. A dealer that buys from someone with no right to sell can end up with a stolen car on its hands. Your licence lets the dealer match your name to the rego papers and the sale paperwork, and the dealer keeps a record of who it bought the car from.
Our own privacy policy spells this out. When you sell to us, we collect your address and photo identification so we can confirm who owns the car. We also keep the records that motor dealer and other laws require about the vehicles we buy and who we buy them from.
A private buyer is different. A careful buyer may ask to see your licence next to the rego papers when they come to look at the car, and that’s reasonable. They don’t need a copy of it on their phone.
In NSW, licence details actually flow the other way in a private sale. To lodge your notice of disposal online, Service NSW asks for the buyer’s NSW licence, or the dealer’s licence number and registered business name if you sell to a motor dealer. So in a NSW private sale, you’re the one who needs the buyer’s licence details. If you’re in NSW and sell to us, you give our licence number, MD 077404, and our registered business name instead.
Why do they need your bank details, and which ones?
To pay you. For a bank transfer, a buyer needs three things: the account name, the BSB and the account number. Nothing else in your banking app is any of their business.
Two habits keep it that way:
- Give the account name exactly as your bank holds it. Australian Payments Plus says its Confirmation of Payee service checks all three details a payer enters against your bank’s records.
- Type the details out. A screenshot of your banking app can show your balance, recent transactions and other accounts.
Bank details are for money coming in, so be wary of any message that asks you to do more to receive it. Australian Payments Plus, which runs PayID, says any message from PayID asking you to send or receive money, or to “upgrade” to a business account, is a scam. Scamwatch also warns about scammers who say they’ve already bought your item, then send a link to a look-alike site that asks for your bank details.
What should no buyer ever ask you for?
If a buyer, or anyone claiming to act for a bank or payment service, asks for any of these, stop:
- your online banking username or password
- your card PIN, or the number, expiry date or security code on your card
- a one-time code or security code your bank sends you
- remote access to your phone or computer, or an app to install “to receive the payment”
- that you log in to your bank through a link they send
- a fee, “upgrade” or refund before you’ve been paid
- your tax file number, which has nothing to do with selling a car.
Banks say the same about themselves. ANZ says a genuine message from it will never ask you to share passwords, PINs or one-time passcodes by email or SMS, click a link to log in to your account, or give remote access to your device. Westpac says it will never ask you to share your online banking security codes or passwords, or your credit card’s expiry date, PIN or CVC. If your own bank won’t ask for these, a car buyer has no reason to.
Who needs what: a private buyer or a licensed dealer?
| What they ask for | Private buyer | Licensed dealer |
|---|---|---|
| Your name and address | Yes, on the receipt | Yes, on the sale paperwork |
| Photo ID | Show it in person if asked | Yes, to confirm you own the car |
| Account name, BSB and account number | Only if paying by bank transfer | Yes, to pay you |
| Loan details | Only proof the loan is cleared | Only with finance owing, to pay out your lender |
| Passwords, PINs, codes or card numbers | Never | Never |
Service NSW, for example, says a bill of sale should include the names, addresses and signatures of both buyer and seller, which is why your address goes on the paperwork either way. Each state records a sale its own way, and our guide to the documents needed to sell a car sets out what each one asks for.
How do you check the buyer before you send anything?
Do it before a single document leaves your phone. Ask the business for its legal name, its motor dealer licence number and the state that issued it, its ABN and a street address. Then:
- Look up the licence on the register of the state that issued it. For a NSW dealer, that’s Verify NSW.
- Look up the ABN on ABN Lookup and check the name matches the licence holder.
- Search for the business yourself and call the number on its website, not one in the message you received, to confirm the person contacting you works there.
Step 3 matters because anyone can copy a real dealer’s name and licence number into a message. Our guide on how to check a car buyer is licensed sets out where to check a licence in each state.
Check us the same way. The licence and the ABN should both come back to the same company, and these are the details to match:
- Legal name: Autohaus Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Sell Your Car Australia
- NSW motor dealer licence: MD 077404
- ABN: 54 618 813 737
- Address: 923 Bourke St, Waterloo NSW 2017
- Phone: 1800 73 55 73
How do you send your licence and bank details safely?
Wait until you’ve checked the buyer and accepted an offer. A genuine valuation is based on the car, so nobody needs your ID to name a price. Then:
- Use the business’s own channel. Send to the email address on its website, or the one it gave you on a call you made. Never send ID to an address that turned up in a Marketplace or Gumtree chat.
- Send your licence once, to one place. Don’t post it in a chat thread or attach it to anything else.
- Mark the copy if you like. You can write a line across the image, such as “For the sale of my car to [business name], [date]”, so it’s clear what the copy was for. Check first that the buyer will accept a marked copy.
- Never send a photo of your bank card. No buyer needs the card itself, only the account details.
For what’s safe to show in the ad itself, such as the VIN and number plates, see our guide on what to share in car ad photos.
Links are the other half of the risk. Don’t click:
- “accept payment” or “release funds” pages
- “verify your identity” or “secure escrow” links sent by a buyer
- a vehicle report site the buyer wants you to pay for (a genuine buyer can run their own PPSR search)
- anything that asks you to log in to your bank.
To check a payment, open your banking app yourself.
Already sent details to someone you now doubt?
Act straight away, in this order:
- Stop sending anything. Don’t reply to explain or argue.
- Call your bank on the number on your card or in its app, and tell them exactly what you shared. If you gave a password or a code, follow Moneysmart’s identity theft advice: ask the bank to block your account, and change your passwords straight away.
- Call IDCARE on 1800 595 160. The OAIC describes IDCARE as Australia’s national identity and cyber support service, and Moneysmart says it can help you make a plan for free. WA ScamNet’s car-sale scam page, though written for buyers, also says to contact IDCARE if you handed over personal information.
- Contact the agency that issued your licence. The OAIC says to contact the agency that issued an identity document, such as a driver licence, for advice about it. In NSW, ID Support NSW (1800 001 040) helps restore stolen or misused identity documents.
- Check your credit report for debts, loans or applications you don’t recognise. The OAIC says you can request a ban on your credit report if you suspect fraud.
- Report it to Scamwatch and to the site where you listed the car. Moneysmart also says to report misuse of your personal information through ReportCyber.
The OAIC’s identity fraud page explains what a credit ban does. If money or the car has already gone, our guide to what to do if you’re scammed selling your car covers the next steps in order.
What do we ask for, and when?
Our valuation form asks for your contact details, your state and postcode, and the car’s make, model, year and kilometres, plus whether there’s finance owing. No ID and no bank details. We can price most cars from the make, model, year, kilometres and a few photos, then make a genuine offer by phone.
ID and bank details come in only if you accept. To sell to us, you’ll need photo ID, the registration papers, the service logbook and any receipts for recent work, your bank details for the payment, and your loan details if the car is under finance. We prepare the sale paperwork and help with the transfer of ownership. Our privacy policy lists what we collect if you sell to us. Passwords, PINs, banking codes and card numbers aren’t on that list.
Your bank details are how the money reaches you. Once we agree on a price, we can often pay a deposit the same day. The inspection follows at a time and place that suits you, the balance goes into your bank account, and the car is collected only after you confirm the funds have cleared. If there’s a loan, we deal with your lender directly to pay it out, then pay you any equity. “A deposit was put into an account within a short time (without them even inspecting the car),” wrote Ray Murray, one of our sellers.
The same policy says we don’t sell, rent or trade your personal information, and lists who sees what, from the inspector to the transport company to your lender.
So should you send them?
Send your ID and bank details to a business buyer when all four of these are true:
- You’ve looked up its dealer licence and ABN yourself, and the names match.
- You’ve accepted an offer and know when and how you’ll be paid.
- It has asked only for what the table above shows a dealer needs, and nothing on the never-ask list.
- You’re sending them through contact details you found yourself.
If any one is missing, wait. A genuine buyer will answer your questions first.
If you’re selling a car, ute, SUV or 4WD built in 2021 or later with 100,000 km or less, we’d like to make you an offer. If yours is older or has more kilometres, send it through anyway and we’ll tell you straight away if we can help. The valuation is free, there’s no obligation and no fees come out of the offer. Check our licence first, then ask for a free valuation or call 1800 73 55 73.
Questions sellers ask
Can someone steal my identity from a photo of my licence?
It's possible. The OAIC says your identity can be stolen from any document that contains information about you, and that identity fraud can mean someone using your identity to open a bank account or get a credit card. A licence carries your name, date of birth, photo and licence number, and often your address, so treat a copy like the card itself. If a copy has gone to someone you doubt, contact the agency that issued your licence and IDCARE on 1800 595 160.
What should I watch for after giving out my BSB and account number?
Requests for anything more. A payer needs only your account name, BSB and account number to send money to you, so a follow-up asking for a login, a one-time code, a fee to 'release' the payment or a click on a payment link is a warning sign. Moneysmart's identity theft advice is to check your bank statements and online accounts often, and to contact your bank about any transaction you don't recognise.
How long will a dealer keep a copy of my licence?
That depends on the dealer and the records the law requires it to keep. Our privacy policy says we keep personal information for as long as we need it for the purposes it lists and to meet our legal record-keeping obligations, then take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it. You can ask to see what we hold about you. If you decide not to sell, you can ask us to delete your enquiry, and we will unless the law requires us to keep it.
Should a buyer need my licence before making an offer?
No. An offer depends on the car, not on you: the make, model, year, kilometres, condition and a few photos. A buyer who wants your licence or bank details before naming a price is a reason to stop and check who you're dealing with. Send them only after you've checked the buyer and accepted an offer.
Can I give a PayID instead of my BSB and account number?
With a private buyer, often yes. Australian Payments Plus, which runs PayID, says you can use a PayID such as a mobile number or email address instead of a BSB and account number, and that the payer is shown your name before they hit send. You create and manage a PayID in your own online banking, and Australian Payments Plus says it will never contact you directly, so treat any message from 'PayID' about your sale as a scam. Either way, check the full amount has arrived in your own banking app before you hand over the car.
