Always be vigilant when trading on the marketplace, but even if they’ve checked, many Quebecers are ripped off when looking to buy a trailer.
The ad in question offered a trailer in Rimouski in Bas-Saint-Laurent.
Because of the distance to travel to pick it up, the seller asked for a $500 deposit to reserve it.
Four hours later on the road, the salesman contacts the victim to inform him that an interested party has arrived and is asking for an additional $1,000 to reserve the trailer for him.
Maxime Lapointe, who lost $1,500 in the scam, says he checked before making the transaction.
“I check the driver’s license, I check the records, the registration documents, it confirms with the driver’s license, it confirms with the address,” he explains in an interview with TVA Nouvelles.
The man checked the address on the driver’s license and the ad on Google Street View.
“When you look at the street scene, you realize that in September 2021, the fifth wheel is in the parking lot. […]. In June 2022, the fifth wheel is still at the address, so we are right,” he told himself.
Before taking the trailer, check the Personal and Movable Real Rights Register (RDPRM) Mr. Lapointe took his time.
But when he arrived in Rimouski, there was no trailer. Instead, there were other victims of fraudulent advertising.
A person from Pews would have lost $5,000.
The owner of the trailer used for this fraudulent ad must have kept it, as many victims of the scam have come to his home to claim it.
The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) had to intervene in some cases in particular.
The same notification was issued in many cities of the province.
Expert and webmaster François Charon is categorical: “The watchword is never money”.
“Even if we go there, there are situations where we don’t even pay. For recreational vehicles and trailers, you have to have it inspected by someone who knows,” he said in an interview with TVA Nouvelles.
Francois Charon explains that the fraudster’s game is to create the impression that the transaction is legitimate.
“The other, on the other end, his job is to make you feel like you’ve done your due diligence, to make sure the other on the other end is correct. It creates a sense of urgency. You either want something really good or on the other end, you get screwed and then you never see that money,” says the expert.
– Based on information from Katia Laflamme
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