Action 9 investigates look-alike car selling scam

COCOA, Fla. — A Cocoa single mother needed a dependable car to get to work and now she's fighting to get $1,000 back from a scammer who claimed he was selling a car on eBay Motors.

Buyers think they're dealing with eBay and a private seller who is ready to make a deal.

“I saw this really nice Maxima, and it had low mileage,” said Brittany Jones. She found the 2006 Nissan on Craigslist, listed for $1,000.

The seller said eBay Motors was handling the transaction, so the sale would be covered by its vehicle protection plan.

“They told me this was going to come in the email -- the protection plan, how everything works,” said Jones.

Jones went to a site that had an eBay Motors logo and live online chat. She wanted to buy the car and the seller said to use eBay gift cards to transfer funds. She paid $1,000.

“They needed an extra $1,000 for shipping insurance,” said Jones. She suspected it was a scam and then the seller disappeared with her cash. “People are just evil, taking money from us like that.”

The FBI calls the fake eBay Motors the top scam currently in use for cheating online car buyers. The scam includes look-alike websites with phony protection plans.

Action 9’s earlier investigation found a Lake County college student was taken for $3,000, and a Leesburg woman was cheated out of a $4,000 IRS refund while trying to buy a car from a fake eBay website.

EBay Motors has a warning on its real site, telling consumers to be aware of any online sellers asking you to go to different websites, refusing to allow inspections before purchase and selling any vehicles that are listed far below market value.

“I just hope I never do anything like that again,” said Jones.

Across the country, there have been several eBay scam arrests, but few victims ever get their money back.

Cox Media Group