Seven red flags before you book car shipping.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has warned consumers about a sharp rise in complaints against auto transporters and auto transport brokers. Two different things sit under that heading. The common one is a sales tactic: a low price to win the booking, then a higher price once you are committed. The rarer one is outright fraud: a company that does not exist, or one using a real company's name and numbers, takes a payment and disappears. The same seven checks catch both.

• No USDOT or MC numberEvery interstate auto transporter and every auto transport broker has to be registered with FMCSA. FMCSA's own advice is to avoid any company that does not prominently show its MC number on its website. If you cannot find one, ask. If they will not give it, you have your answer.
• The numbers do not check outA number on a website proves nothing until you look it up. On FMCSA's SAFER Company Snapshot the operating status should read authorized, the legal name should match the company you are talking to, and it should say whether they are a carrier, a broker or both. How to do it, step by step: How to check a DOT and MC number
• You cannot tell if they are a broker or a carrierBoth are legal. But FMCSA tells consumers to be suspicious of any website where it is not clear which one the company is. A broker arranges the move and hires a truck. A carrier owns the truck. If the website says “our drivers” and SAFER says broker only, someone is not being straight with you.
• One quote is far below the restIf four quotes land within a hundred dollars of each other and one is three hundred dollars lower, the low one is usually a broker's opening bid that no truck will accept. Days pass, nothing is picked up, and the price goes up. More on how pricing really works: What does it cost to ship a car?
• A big deposit before a truck is assignedPaying on delivery, or paying a carrier that has already named the truck and the date, is normal. A large non-refundable deposit taken before anyone has been assigned to your car is the pattern behind a lot of complaints. Ask what the deposit buys, and what happens to it if no truck shows.
• Payment by gift card, wire or a payment appNo real transport company asks you to pay with gift cards. Wire transfers and peer-to-peer apps are almost impossible to get back. A credit card gives you a dispute process. If you do pay by card, FMCSA's advice is to watch the account and make sure only the amount you approved was taken.
• Pressure to book right now“This price is only good for the next hour” is a sales line. Real trucks run on real schedules, and a real company will still be there tomorrow while you check them out.

FMCSA warns that criminals use other carriers' USDOT numbers without permission, and that the top search results for a company can be fake profiles set up by scammers. The fix is simple. Look the company up on SAFER yourself, and call the phone number listed there. If the person who answers has never heard of your booking, you have caught it before it cost you anything.

• Pickup and delivery addresses — with a contact name and phone at each end.
• Year, make, model and VIN — and whether it runs, steers and brakes.
• Your dates — and how flexible they are.
• Anything unusual — lowered, lifted, oversized, no keys.
• Payment terms in writing — when, how much, and to whom.
• Someone at both ends — to sign the inspection at pickup and at delivery.