A 65-year-old Eureka woman allegedly lost $5,000 while trying to purchase a 2011 Cadillac Escalade EXT through carsforsale.com, Eureka Police reported.
The woman said she emailed the man selling the Escalade on March 12, saying she would not pay any money before receiving the vehicle. Initially, the seller agreed to wait for payment until after the pickup was delivered, but then emailed the victim on March 26 asking for $5,000 to be paid through xoom.com to cover shipping, the report said.
The woman transferred the funds to pay for the shipping on March 27 and then could not get a hold of the seller after that, despite reaching out to him by phone and email.
Eureka Police Capt. David Wilson said it is unlikely the money can be recovered and that the case was turned over to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.