Facebook Marketplace seller says man stole her car during test drive
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Grand Rapids woman said her vehicle, which she had listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace, was stolen by a man who came to test drive it.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was at home with her daughter-in-law when she realized the man wasn’t returning her silver Toyota RAV4.
“After like 30 minutes, she’s like, ‘You need to call the cops,’” she said. “He stole your car. He’s not back,” the woman said.
Like many people who use the popular social media app to make a quick sale, the woman said she posted the car for sale with the hopes of scrounging up enough cash to help her family following a tragedy.
KDPS urges online transaction safety after shooting death
“Our stepbrother passed away last weekend in a car accident down in Texas,” she explained. “My parents and my brother are out there … I told my parents, I was like, ‘Well, I can help you guys. If the car sells before you guys come back, I can help you guys with expenses. For the food and for the gas to get back.’ That was going to be a big help for my parents as well,” she added.
She said when the man arrived at her home, he seemed friendly and trusting. Before he took the car for a spin, she snapped a photo of his ID as an extra precaution. She also claimed she even offered for her son to go with him, but the man refused.
“I am just that type of person, I trust in people,” she said. “Everybody has a lesson learned, and this is my lesson learned … we called and called and called him and he never answered us.”
When it comes to Facebook Marketplace sales gone wrong, News 8 sat down with the chief of the Grand Rapids Police Department, Eric Winstrom. He said there’s a few things sellers and buyers can do to stay vigilant including reverse image searches, among other tactics.
“Something that I would advise people to do is to try and have a more robust conversation with an individual that you are on social media with and going back and forth,” he explained. “Meeting in a public space, maybe bringing a friend along with you, meeting at a time that’s safe, when it’s light out … there are steps people can take to protect themselves.”
Just two weeks ago in Kalamazoo, a Facebook Marketplace transaction turned deadly after a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed. Winstrom said both these cases should serve as a safety reminder.
“This is a new avenue that criminals have picked up on,” he said. “And a new way to either do non-violent scams or a way to put people in a physical situation where they could be susceptible to something like an armed robbery.
The woman News 8 sat down with said now she doesn’t have her car or the $9,000 she was planning to sell it for. She also hopes others learn from her mistake so something like this doesn’t happen to them.
“It’s really a hurtful situation because that’s money that I could put food on the table for my kids, pay my bills, the situation that sending money to my parents back to Texas so they can get back home,” she said. “That can be used for a lot of things. He just took money from someone that really needed it.”
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