Eagle County authorities have unraveled an “elaborate” Facebook scam involving a stolen vehicle and hidden trackers.
The victim found a truck on Facebook Marketplace and picked it up in Texas, where the seller met the victim in person with title and keys.
When the victim went to register the truck in Colorado it came back as stolen, complete with counterfeit plates and a “washed” title – the scammers had removed information from the truck title illegally and altered it.
But the kicker: Cops found a tracking device hidden inside the truck.
“With scams like this, the crooks steal the cars, forge paperwork to sell them, and then use a tracking device to show up at your home a few days later with a second key to steal the vehicle back and re-sell it,” Eagle County Sheriff’s Office says in a statement.
In the end, everyone loses. The stolen truck must be returned to Texas, and the Eagle County victim, who paid in cash, will not get their money back.
Authorities remind buyers to be cautious with social media car sales and never pay in cash.