Photo: AZfamily | screenshot
Long story short: a young man wanted a Ford Bronco Raptor, went online, found one on Craiglist, paid $75,000, got it delivered at home, and then found out it had been stolen right from the factory. Now the man is $75,000 short.
You think you’re good to go and buy that car that you double-checked in all the right places. Dealership, Carfax report, tax office, everywhere. But sometimes, scams are so good that no matter what you do, you will still be one step behind the scammer.
A story of the kind happened in Arizona. That is where dozens of brand-new vehicles stolen from the factory lot in Detroit, Michigan, ended up. They were eventually sold to buyers who took everything for granted. And they were entitled to do it. All the paperwork seemed in order to Nick, the one who was fooled by the seller he contacted on Craiglist.
The so-called owner even proved that the car was driven all the way from Alaska, with an Alaska license plate, adding a few thousand miles on the odometer. The story seemed legit, so Nick bought every word.
Nick, whose last name remains undisclosed by the investigation team, got his eyes on the Bronco in spring, while browsing through the offers on Craiglist. He liked it and decided to bring it home to Arizona in March. He did not pay a single dime before running a Carfax check.
The report was clean, as confirmed by a local dealer in Phoenix. Nick expected the VIN to flag an eventual issue with the almost-new Bronco Raptor. But it didn't. So he went on and paid $75,000.
The investigation eventually revealed that the seller had provided a fake vehicle identification number, one that belonged to a car that was indeed clean in the Arizona auto-title computer system.
Three weeks after getting the delivery of the off-roader, Nick wanted to trade it for a larger pickup truck. But a dealership employee realized that something was wrong with the VIN and called the police. The dealership general manager called Nick and yelled at him, without knowing that he was actually a victim.
The police impounded the vehicle, but there are minimal chances for him to recover the $75,000 he paid for the Bronco Raptor. And he is not the only one scammed. There are buyers from Arizona, New Mexico, California, Alaska, and Tennessee who went through the exact same thing, as reported by AZfamily.
The investigation shows that the Bronco with Alaskan plates and registration also spent some time in California. Seven people have been arrested in connection to the theft of Broncos from the factory lot, according to the police in Canton, Michigan. The authorities managed to track down some of the stolen vehicles.
A story of the kind happened in Arizona. That is where dozens of brand-new vehicles stolen from the factory lot in Detroit, Michigan, ended up. They were eventually sold to buyers who took everything for granted. And they were entitled to do it. All the paperwork seemed in order to Nick, the one who was fooled by the seller he contacted on Craiglist.
The so-called owner even proved that the car was driven all the way from Alaska, with an Alaska license plate, adding a few thousand miles on the odometer. The story seemed legit, so Nick bought every word.
Nick, whose last name remains undisclosed by the investigation team, got his eyes on the Bronco in spring, while browsing through the offers on Craiglist. He liked it and decided to bring it home to Arizona in March. He did not pay a single dime before running a Carfax check.
The report was clean, as confirmed by a local dealer in Phoenix. Nick expected the VIN to flag an eventual issue with the almost-new Bronco Raptor. But it didn't. So he went on and paid $75,000.
The investigation eventually revealed that the seller had provided a fake vehicle identification number, one that belonged to a car that was indeed clean in the Arizona auto-title computer system.
Three weeks after getting the delivery of the off-roader, Nick wanted to trade it for a larger pickup truck. But a dealership employee realized that something was wrong with the VIN and called the police. The dealership general manager called Nick and yelled at him, without knowing that he was actually a victim.
The police impounded the vehicle, but there are minimal chances for him to recover the $75,000 he paid for the Bronco Raptor. And he is not the only one scammed. There are buyers from Arizona, New Mexico, California, Alaska, and Tennessee who went through the exact same thing, as reported by AZfamily.
The investigation shows that the Bronco with Alaskan plates and registration also spent some time in California. Seven people have been arrested in connection to the theft of Broncos from the factory lot, according to the police in Canton, Michigan. The authorities managed to track down some of the stolen vehicles.
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