VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – If it's too good to be true, it probably is. That’s what a Orange City man learned when he was recently scammed out of $180 after he bought speakers from a man at a gas station parking lot.
"He looked legit. He had a uniform with the name brand of the speakers imprinted on his shirt,” the man who bought the speakers said. "He looked like he just got out of the warehouse. He looked like a working man.”
Johnny declined to share his last name, but said that's why he didn't think twice about the purchase on Wednesday night.
"He wanted $300 at first, then I brought him down to $180,” he said. “We finally agreed on $180.”
The man told Johnny to pull money from the ATM before he unloaded the box from a tan and green SUV.
"He told me 'You can open the box if you want.' Of course, even if you open it, it still looks legit," Johnny said.
It wasn't until Johnny installed the surround sound system at home that he realized something was wrong.
"No sound. You're wondering what's going on, so you take it apart," he said.
Johnny unscrewed the small speaker to show News 6 what he found inside.
"Look at the stone. Do you put that in a speaker? Who puts a stone in a speaker?" he said.
Inside there was a rock super glued to the bottom of the casing and no power source on the speaker. The speakers also came with a fake warranty and an owner's manual with a 1-800 number that directs people to random call centers and dating sites.
"I'm very upset. I'm disabled and everything. I have a baby and I don't want to lose my money this way," Johhny said.
He now wants others to be aware of the scam.
"I don't want this to happen to anybody else and I want these people to get caught," he said.