Police and the Department of Fair Trading are investigating cases of car fraud after a Maitland man claimed he posted a substantial amount into a person’s account to buy a vehicle, but never saw the car.
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“I just want people to be careful about sending money to people in these cases,” the victim, who wants to remain anonymous, said.
“I saw an advertised car for sale and a man gave me his full details, which turned out to be correct.
“But once I deposited the money into his account, this man told me the car was at a friend’s house and he would get it transported to his place so I could collect it.
“He then dragged the story along for eight weeks – saying his friend was not at home when he went to get the car.
“Eventually I had enough and I asked for my money back.
“He said ‘yes, no worries, I will give you a refund’, but I never saw my money.
“I went to the police and they said I was not the only one.”
The victim said police rang the man he had been dealing with and he told them the victim would receive his money in his account in 24 hours.
“But this didn’t happen,” the victim said.
“I just want people to know about these fraud scams involving vehicles.”
Central Hunter crime manager Detective Inspector John Zdrilic said: “People should always be on their guard if stories sound too good to be true.
“And they should be very careful about handing over money to someone they do not know.”