[February 06, 2011] BRIEF: Police probe Internet scam Tweet Feb 05, 2011 (Statesville Record & Landmark - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Statesville Police Department is investigating a possible scam involving the sale of a vehicle via the Internet. Statesville Chief Tom Anderson said that a local man spotted a vehicle on eBay Motors and made arrangements to purchase the vehicle from a man supposedly in Arizona. After wiring $2,450 for the 2002 Ford Explorer to a site in Massachusetts, the victim received an e-mail advising him to wire another $1,500 for transportation insurance. At that point, Anderson said, the man became suspicious and notified police. "These scams are pretty rampant," Anderson said. In some cases nationwide, he said, hackers have cloned the eBay and Craigslist sites and will attempt to sell a vehicle via those sites. Anderson said people should be aware of any purchase that requires wiring of cash to an untraceable source. "You are taking a lot of risk sending a lot of cash through wire transfers," he said. He said the best advice is to remember the old adage "if it seems too good to be true, it is." To see more of the Statesville Record & Landmark or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.statesville.com. Copyright (c) 2011, Statesville Record & Landmark, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]