CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A South Carolina man says he was scammed out of $18,000 after putting his car up for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
Christopher Kane says he decided to put his 2016 Audi on Facebook Marketplace to help pay for his wedding in November. Instead, he's left without a car and a bad check as a scammer he met in Charlotte allegedly ripped him off.
"Everything I have is tied up in this vehicle," Kane said. "Without it, I don't know what I'm doing to do."
Facebook Marketplace has become a common spot for people to trade, sell and buy items. Unfortunately, it is also a place that attracts scammers.
Kane listed his white 2016 Audi on several sites before a potential buy reached out to him on Facebook.
“This individual reached out to me and indicated that they wanted to purchase it for their wife," Kane said. "Everything seemed legit."
Kane drove up to Charlotte from Spartanburg and met the buyer at a shopping center on South Tryon Street near Interstate 485. The man checked out the car and then handed Kane a cashier's check from the State Employees' Credit Union, a bank Kane was familiar with.
“I took the cashier's check straight to my bank, I had her look it over," Kane said. "She said it looked real, as well."
However, once the check was processed, Kane learned it was not legit. He even drove back to the credit union listed on the check and said they confirmed he had been scammed.
“The check they told me originally was a legitimate account number,” Kane said. “But apparently the check had been washed. So at some point that check was legit.”
Kane filed a police report and is now battling it out with his insurance company.
“It is devastating,” Kane said. “I don't have the car … this person has the car, both keys and the title. And unfortunately, my insurance is not going to cover this either because the police have reported this as fraud rather than theft.”
All he wants is his car back.
“I work hard for my money. I work hard for the things that I own,” Kane said. “I don't get help from anybody and for someone to just take my vehicle fraudulently, it's very frustrating.”
Kane hopes someone recognizes the car whether it is put back on the market for sale or on the road and contacts police. Juliana O’Rork with the Better Business Bureau said these types of scams are pretty common.
“Scammers will essentially rework who the check is made out through various methods that they can do,” O’Rork said. “This happens to a lot of local businesses, that's another very popular thing that's happening recently is check washing.”
She recommends people meet in person at a police station or a bank to make sure the check is legit before the buyer walks away with your items.
“Call the issuing financial institution and don't take the phone number off the check, look it up yourself,” O’Rork said. “Then call them because anybody that's willing to purchase a vehicle for that kind of money, and if the check is real, they have no problem waiting for you to call the bank.”
WCNC Charlotte reached out to CMPD about the incident. A department spokesperson couldn’t provide specifics, but said when buying or selling vehicles:
- Deal only with verified/reputable dealers and dealerships.
- Utilize cash when possible.
- Otherwise, conduct transactions at a financial institution so that the funds can be verified.
Meanwhile, Kane says he is devastated. His car is gone and he is left without the $18,000 that he had big plans for.
“I was going to use the funds from the vehicle as part of the wedding fund,” Kane said. “So this is really an unfortunate situation for me all around.”
A spokesperson for State Employees' Credit Union said unfortunately, the act of altering and counterfeiting checks has been around for years. SECU is not immune from fraudsters altering or counterfeiting cashier’s checks and using them in scam ploys. The credit union said they have not seen an increase in this type of activity on cashier’s check accounts over the past few months.
SECU shared these precautions for people to keep in mind.
When selling items to someone you don’t know, it is ideal to accept cash. When selling a car and someone is paying with a check, it is ideal for you to meet at the financial institution where the check is drawn off. The financial institution can verify the legitimacy of their own cashier’s check and can often also assist you with notarizing the paperwork and title to finalize the sale.
Consumers can report a scam to the FTC here: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-do-if-you-were-scammed
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.