A Lancaster County woman is out $45,000 thousand dollars after the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says she fell victim to an online auto scam. The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says the 56-year-old woman believed she had won a 2024 Lexus SUV through an online auction site called AutoWheelers.com, which she found on Facebook.
Houchin says the woman even checked with her bank’s fraud department before wiring the money to a Bank of America account in Arizona on May 6th. He says the bank did not think it was a scam.
The SUV was supposed to arrive May 16th, but it never showed up. Houchin says the company has since stopped answering the woman’s calls and now has access to her personal information. He says the woman did several things correctly, but he cautions anyone making large online purchases to never send money until they can verify the product exists and, if possible, see it in person.
He also warned that deals that seem too good to be true usually are. Investigators note the same model Lexus SUV typically sells for more than $80,000 The investigation is ongoing.