INDIANAPOLIS – Consumers selling their vehicles on Craigslist are being warned to watch out for a scam making the rounds in the Midwest.
According to CNN, the National Insurance Crime Bureau reports nearly 100 people have been victimized; several in the Chicago area.
The scam targets car sellers. The “buyer” will send the seller a bank check that looks real, but after the seller hands over the vehicle and title, the check turns out to be a fake.
The Indiana Attorney General’s office recommends avoiding checks and instead using PayPal to verify that the funds are real.
“A cashier’s check, a personal check… that is information printed on a piece of paper,” said Director of Outreach Services Michelle Mayer. “I would only give someone my vehicle in exchange for a piece of paper if they let me walk into their financial institution and I physically saw them withdraw the money and turn that into a cashier’s check from that financial institution.”
