A CAR dealership is sounding the alarm about a new scheme targeting lots after the business was duped out of $33,000.
It all started when a supposed customer walked into a dealership to buy a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Walkertown Auto Sales Manager Justin Dillon is sounding the alarm after his lot was scammed of $33,000WFMY The thief used a fraudulent cashier’s check to buy a 2014 Jeep Grand CherokeeWFMY The Walkertown car dealership faced additional financial setbacks in the past few monthsWFMYWalkertown Auto Sales Manager Justin Dillon said nothing seemed out of the ordinary about the sale or customer.
They drove off from the Walkertown, North Carolina lot with the Jeep after handing over a cashier’s check for $33,000.
Four days later, Dillon got a call from the owner of the account linked to the check, saying it was fraudulent.
Dillon immediately called the police to report the Jeep stolen but it was too late – the car and thief were long gone.
“I’m normally very understanding and an easy-to-get-along-with person,” Dillon told local CBS affiliate WFMY.
“But at this point, I really want this person in jail.”
Dillion said he should have been more careful, but the situation didn’t seem suspicious at all.
“It seemed so normal,” he added.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office in Walkertown, North Carolina is now investigating.
But the bad check and stolen car aren’t the first setback the auto dealer has experienced in recent weeks.
In December, someone broke into the shop and tried to steal the same Jeep, but failed.
A week earlier, three thieves broke into the dealership by forcing their way in through the front door with a fire extinguisher.
They stole a shotgun and a $100 bill.
Also last year, crooks snatched seats, a gear shift knob, and an emblem set off a car for sale and dumped the seats in the woods nearby.
And in yet another setback, the dealership was targeted for its Cadillac converters.
Dillon recalled another break-in where thieves shattered the front glass, but the only thing they made off with was a gumball machine.
“It sucks, but we’ve been lucky,” he said.
He is hopeful authorities will catch the thief who scammed him out of $33,000.
Dillon and Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office didn’t immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
TROUBLING TREND
Multiple car dealers in Michigan are facing similar challenges after losing thousands to car thieves, with some even forced to tighten security measures, Detroit Free Press reported.
Katie Bowman Coleman, a Clarkston dealership owner, said a thief used a fake ID to buy a car.
While the dealership’s fraud insurance covered most of the cost, they still had to pay $8,000 in deductibles and lawyer fees, echoing the frustrations of many who’ve fallen victim to similar scams.
A whopping 1,020,729 cars were stolen in 2023 across the US, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB).
Vehicle thefts have been on the rise since 2019, showing a steady increase year over year.
In 2023, California had the highest total number of vehicle thefts in the country, with 208,668 cars reported stolen.
Meanwhile, the District of Columbia had the highest rate of car thefts per capita, with 1,149 thefts for every 100,000 people — more than three times the national average.
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