A dealer in Maine sold people dozens of vintage classic cars. Customers were given real personal identification numbers, bills of sale, and other official papers. However, the cars did not appear. Jane Torres, executive director of the Holton, Maine, Chamber of Commerce, started getting phone calls about a company called VNKC. He was supposed to be located in the city, but when she looked, there was no trace of her presence.
VNKC pretends to be a classic car dealer
According to CarScoops, by the fourth phone call, Torres decided to check out the place herself. I went to the address listed for VNKC. Needless to say, there was no classic car dealership. Instead, it was the site of a garbage collection and tree trimming service. She reportedly verified both companies; Neither tree trimmers nor garbage collectors have ever heard of VNKC.
Customers have been reported in Oklahoma, California, Florida and South Carolina. Customers say that as soon as any money was exchanged, VNKC disappeared.
The most documented case to date is that of a client who wishes to remain anonymous. He said he was looking for a file. Unfortunately, VNKC just happened to “own” one.
This customer says he was talking to the classic car dealer for five weeks before paying a $500 deposit. He said, “I have a copy of the address, bill of lading, bill of sale, TIN.” “It never arrived. After the ship date, the number I was calling was gone.”
The weirdest part is that he found the Blazer he tried to buy from another legitimate classic car site, . This website showed the car in Naples, Florida.
How are you going to play someone on a Nissan Figaro?
Another customer, Diana Kirkpatrick, of Aiken, South Carolina, found a customer on Auto Trader. Just like with the Blazer buyer, the scam artists told her to put some money into an escrow account. This will be enough to connect the car. If she doesn’t like it, she can return it. However, the car did not arrive.
what is happening now?
Chevy buyer says it’s working with the FBI and an Oklahoma AG. He was also in contact with Maine’s AG. Although the people behind this scam have not yet been found, the ISP of the VNKC LLC website has been registered with the Lithuanian ISP.
The unfortunate truth is that such scams are hard to fail. So far, all the authorities have to offer is to use this as a reminder that you have to be careful when buying anything online. Keep an eye out for fishy classic cars online.
