Bill Thomas said he was looking for a motorhome to spend some time traveling. His search led him to Facebook Marketplace.
“I figured, well, maybe I’ll spend a month or two on the road. So, let’s find a motor home. Let’s find an RV,” Thomas said.
He clicked on an ad that directed him to a website advertising a 2014 Winnebago at a price that seemed right.
“It shows if interested, email me,” Thomas said.
Thomas received a return email confirming the price of $22,500 and explaining the vehicle was a repo and priced lower than usual.
The seller added they had no showroom or inspection area and conducted all sales online.
The seller told Thomas, “Oh, you’re interested in it? Well, what we can do is we can send you a purchase agreement and you fill it out, send it back to me and then we can go from there.”
Thomas returned the purchase agreement and was sent an invoice showing the purchase price plus shipping costs.
He then received wire transfer instructions.
He wired $22,650 and waited for the vehicle to be delivered.
“At what point did you know it was a scam?” News 6’s Louis Bolden asked.
“Well, when they didn’t show up,” Thomas replied.
[WATCH BELOW: Fake ads, websites scam shoppers out of thousands of dollars]
News 6 investigated and found the crooks took the name of a legitimate Florida LLC, Florida Recreational Marketing, which is registered with the state.
Then, they created a website using the same name.
The telephone number listed on the site changed frequently.
When Thomas was dealing with them, it was a 407-area-code number.
Now, it’s a 386-area-code and the number is disconnected.
The address listed online belongs to a different company.
“How can Marketplace allow this to happen?” Thomas asked.
Holly Salmons, president of the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida, said people often assume social media sites have protections against fraud - but they don’t.
“The social site is not going to do vetting for you,” she said. “Just because there’s a listing doesn’t mean anyone has done any sort of vetting, that’s on you,” Salmons said.
She advises when buying high-ticket items, don’t send more money than you can afford to lose and never send money without seeing and inspecting the item first.
To help avoid scams, experts recommend verifying sellers on Facebook Marketplace by checking their profile for a history of transactions, reading reviews or ratings, if available, and communicating through the platform rather than external websites or email.
Be wary of sellers who pressure you to pay quickly or ask for payment via wire transfer or gift cards.
“I’ve learned my lesson. If I buy something, I’m gonna touch it, feel it, see it, OK?” Thomas said.
Remember don’t fall for the scheme, don’t get ripped off. But if you do, email him at investigators@wkmg.com.
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