Greg's Corner

The police often can’t help with online fraud

A man from Glendale, Arizona really had his heart set on buying a Tesla. He even went to a car classifieds site that has a pretty stellar reputation. However, even the best sites can have a scammer or two in their midst and the victim of this story happened to run into one of them.

The car supposedly being put up for sale was not local to Glendale. The Tesla was also listed at a bargain of a price. Of course, the reduced price had a story to go along with it. The seller claimed he was getting rid of the car because he was a pilot and moving to Canada for training. Unfortunately, the victim wired $30,000 to the scammer and never received the Tesla of his dreams.

This man was not to be undaunted though. Even with his financial loss, he still had it in his mind that he was still going to purchase a Tesla. He either ran into the same scammer online or another scammer who using the same Canadian pilot story.

Both times, the victim notified his local police and was rather abruptly told “We do not have the time or resources to go out and proactively pursue other fraud schemes on the internet.”

While the Glendale Police have since apologized to the man for their reaction to his request, that is, unfortunately, the case for most people who are defrauded on the internet. The majority of these fraudsters live and operate overseas which leaves U.S. law enforcement little power to apprehend these scammers. However, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t report online fraud to your local police so they could at least warn the local community of fraud happening in their area.

Also, always avoid any potential sale that comes with a story about why the item is at such a reduced price. You should also never buy a car without inspecting it yourself or by a trusted mechanic before making the purchase. And lastly, never pay for any item online with a form of payment that can’t be traced like gift cards or wire transfers.