GREENSBORO, N.C. — Shelby Roberts sold her only vehicle hoping to get a new one later that day but ended up without a way of getting around because she was scammed.
"We knew we had been scammed badly," Roberts said.
At first, Roberts thought it was a innocent car sale at a shopping center in Greensboro.
"He said was buying it for his 16-year-old sister," Roberts.
But many red flags were raised that she didn't catch until the sale was done. They met on Facebook Marketplace.
"He wasn’t able to show an ID," Roberts shared. "The amount was short 18 dollars and I called him out on it. He said he didn’t have it in his bank account and gave me it in cash which I let him keep."
Roberts later saw the word vehicle was spelled wrong on the cashier's check but thought nothing of it. Turns out, it was a fraudulent cashier's check.
"Later a Wells Fargo teller let me know it didn’t have the watermark that should’ve been there," Roberts said.
That’s when she knew she’d never see the $14,000 she was hoping to get for selling her Mazda.
Michelle Shank with Summit Credit Union said they’ve seen fraudulent cashier checks and shared advice.
"Have that person do the cashier's check while at the financial institution," Shank said. "Sign it over to you and you cash it at the institution at that time. That’s the best-case scenario."
In hindsight, Roberts said she should've known better.
"He had none of the info he communicated to me through Facebook market place leading me to believe the person I was communicating with was not who met up with me," Roberts said.
Roberts said the man in the facebook profile was black but the man she met up with was white. She said it didn't raise a flag at the time because she thought the man was using a stock photo because he didn't want his real photo on marketplace.
She did snap a photo during the transaction because she was a little suspicious.
"Hindsight is always 2020," Roberts said. "I cannot believe I allowed several of these red flags to fly but at the time you want to believe the best about people and that they’re not lying."
Roberts said the scammer was driving this Chevy truck with a Uhaul attached.
She filed a police report and her insurance provided a rental car in the meantime
We reached out to law enforcement for updates on the investigation.
They said they’ll have details Monday.