Ben Adams, private eye. Client: self. Property recovered: stolen pickup.
It's a fascinating story. He sold his classic pickup on e-bay on a Friday night. Someone picked it up on Sunday leaving behind a fake cashiers check for payment. On Monday his bank gave him the bad news about the fake check.
It turns out that the perps were buying restored classic vehicles with fake cashiers checks and also buying junkers of a similar make and model legitimately. Then they would resell the nice ones on e-bay with the junker titles.
He reported the crime to 13 different law enforcement agencies but couldn't get help from them. So he tracked down the perps himself. And when they tried to resell it on e-bay with a different title he had a friend take it for a test spin. Then the police helped him and made the arrest.
You can read Mr. Adam's story in his own words at his blog. Check it out, it's worth the read to get the details of his investigations. There are a couple of unanswered questions, though. For example, did the thieves attempt to alter the VIN on the vehicle to match the other vehicle's title? And what exactly did he tell the police on the phone that last time to convince them to come and make the arrest? Maybe these questions will be answered after the trial.
So, what have we learned today. First, it is probably advisable for e-bay sellers to verify the check before releasing the merchandise. And second, used car buyers should make sure the VIN on the title matches the VIN on the vehicle.
Finally, here's a writeup about it at Computerworld.
Via TechClicks.
Nice work, Detective Adams!
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