Deputy Bilbo informed me that there have been four recent instances of people being scammed on Facebook Market Place and other online sources. The stories go something like this. Someone was purchasing an electric bicycle from an individual in Ft. Smith. The seller indicated that he had several people interested so if the guy really wanted the bike, he needed to put money down and then they would arrange a pickup in Ft. Smith. When the Holiday Island resident got to Ft. Smith, there was no one there. Down payment gone.
A second incident was an individual wanting to rent a house in Eureka Springs. The agent claimed to work for a particular Real Estate company in Eureka Springs. Again, the agent wanted money down with the application but when the hopeful renter got to the address, it was an ice machine. They checked with the Real Estate company and they had no knowledge of the person representing himself as the agent. Down payment gone.
A third incident was an out of town individual that booked a stay at a “local resort” and upon getting here found that no such resort existed.
A fourth incident also involved a local long term rental however in this particular case the individual checked it out before putting any money down so he didn’t fall for the scam.
If you watch any local news from Springfield you will see that this is happening a lot. Especially with used cars. My recommendation would be don’t buy anything off of Facebook Marketplace or any other individual unless you know the seller or can physically see what you are buying before giving anybody money. Buyer beware is more important now than ever.
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