WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The Better Business Bureau Serving Connecticut is warning residents to be on alert for virtual vehicle vendor scams.
According to the BBB, a California man said he lost tens of thousands of dollars after falling for a scammer posing as a Connecticut classic car dealer. The BBB said Dale Frye paid about $25,000 for a 1934 Ford Cabriolet he found online; the seller told him he was getting a good deal on transporting the car across the country because they do their own shipping.
When Frye wired the money, his bank informed him that it was being sent to Texas instead of Connecticut, but he ignored the red flag. Frye remembers the teller informing him that it’s not uncommon for companies to have out-of-state banks.
The vehicle never arrived at Frye’s address, so he flew to West Hartford to meet the purported seller, Auto Store CT Quality Used Cars, hoping to retrieve the car or get a refund. While the business’ website said that the dealership is home to a collection of vintage vehicles, Frye only found a storage garage. A nearby business owner told him there hasn’t been any activity there in two years.
“It turned into reality the fact that I got scammed. The thought was already out there on the way here, but it turned into reality,” Frye said, according to the BBB.
BBB Serving Connecticut said it is investigating and has discovered that the business once located at 566 A New Park Avenue in West Hartford has not fielded an annual report with the state for two years.
BBB said that the Secretary of the State’s Office filed a notice of intent to revoke the business’ license at the end of August.
According to the BBB Serving Connecticut, efforts are being made to determine if the seller was posing as a legitimate company that was once located at the same address. Frye also filed a report with the West Hartford Police Department.
Virtual vehicle vendor scams have increased nationwide in the past year, as scammers target high-end classic car buyers and exploit vehicle history reports to steal both money and information, the BBB reports.
Since 2020, the BBB said it has received reports revealing that scammers used the COVID-19 pandemic to list non-existent vehicles of all kinds of real online marketplaces.
A BBB study also notes that buyers ages 45 and older accounted for more than 75% of all reports on virtual vehicle vendors scams filed with the BBB Scam Tracker.
Additionally, scammers increasingly rely on fake websites, often stealing pictures and listing information from licensed and legitimate sellers, according to the BBB.
Classic car buyers were targeted by low prices and promises to deliver rare cars across the country.
From 2021-2023, nearly 700 BBB Scam Tracker reports were made regarding fraudulent vehicle sales, escrow scams and fake vehicle reports. Meanwhile, the median loss in fraudulent vehicle sales and escrow scams is $12,600.
When looking to purchase a vehicle online, the BBB encourages consumers not to purchase a vehicle report on your own vehicle for an interested buyer, view a vehicle in-person if possible or send someone you trust, be wary of too-good-to-be-true prices, opt for vehicle pick up over delivery whenever possible, resist high-pressure sales tactics urging quick action and use only approved Vehicle Identification Number lookup websites.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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