Monday, July 13, 2009

Resident Taken For A Ride While Shopping For Car On Craigs List

   A resident of western Lawrence was bilked out of a considerable sum while shopping for a car on Craigslist.com last week.

   The victim reported the incident to deputies with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department during the weekend, indicating that the actual theft had occurred on July 8. She reported that she had found a car listed at www.craigslist.com, that she wished to purchase for her son. The total cost of the car was $3,200.

   When she contacted the seller, who identified herself as Maria Roberts of Manhattan, New York, she suggested that the transaction be handled through Ebay Motors in order to utilize a “$20,000 protection policy.” She instructed the victim to use Walmart Moneygram to wire $2,000 into an account in the name of her family member. Once she had verified that the funds were there, she said she would proceed with the transaction.

   The victim did as instructed, paying the $86 fee to forward the $2,000 Moneygram. She then gave the reference number to the seller “so that she could verify the funds.” A short time later, the victim reported, the funds were obtained by an unknown person in New York.

   The victim told deputies she has had no contact with the seller since, and did not receive the car. Officials with Moneygram advised her to file a police report so that she could obtain any further information about the transaction. In addition, deputies advised her to contact officials with Craig’s List and Ebay to make them aware of the fraud incident.