Description

Scammer listed agricultural/construction equipment at prices much lower than expected. The "seller" had a professional-looking website. A Facebook page was also associated with the company, but no address was listed on the page. I inquired about a skid loader priced at $15,400, which ordinarily would be valued at approximately $50,000. "John" was my primary contact, who sent a professional-looking purchase agreement, which I signed. I was asked for payment via wire transfer. I worked with my bank to line up the wire transfer, which was initiated, but the bank receiving the deposit flagged the company as fraudulent. After checking further, the address listed on the company website was actually the address of a different business. The phone line associated with the company at the beginning of the ordeal was "no longer in service" shortly after initiating discussions, and "John" began calling from a different number he claimed was a cell number but not able to receive text messages. Shortly after, the company website phone number was changed to this new number, which seemed a bit strange for a company to list a "cell phone number". Nearing the end of the discussions, I received badgering phone calls for payment placed at what would've been 6 AM in Colorado (Mountain time), which seemed out of sorts for normal business hours. All of these things raised red flags, and I canceled the wire transfer. In summary, high-value equipment was listed at discounted prices. Professional-looking website, though communication was strange. No money was exchanged, though I'm confident if the wire transfer had been successful I would not have received the equipment for which I paid.