York County resident loses over $30,000 after scam
YORK, Neb. (KLKN) – A resident of York County believed they were purchasing a piece of heavy equipment from a dealership in another state. Instead, the resident lost $30,000.
The supposed dealership was not connected to the real business in any way.
“He saw the equipment offered for sale, online, and that it was being sold from a reputable company with a real name,” Sheriff Vrbka said. “The thing, here, though, was that the phone number was not associated with the real business and when he called to talk to someone, he was actually talking with the scammer. Plus, the business was not located where online information said it was supposed to be. Anyway, he wired the money to an account . . . and because it was a scam, the money is now gone and no equipment was delivered or able to be picked up. The equipment doesn’t exist and the funds have disappeared.”
York County Sheriff Paul Vrbka urges people to be careful and warns residents of the skyrocketing instances of scamming.
“There are some steps that people can take ahead of time, to make sure these types of sales offerings are legitimate and that businesses are real, that they are where they say they are,” Sheriff Vrbka said. “We just hate to see people lose money like this, it’s just awful.”
Vrbka says the investigation is ongoing involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) but says that when these things happen, the money is rarely recovered.
