Woodbridge Man Loses $2,000 Selling Car Online

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Here's a cautionary tale for anyone who's ever been tempted to buy or sell a car through the Internet or in person.

A 30-year-old Iselin resident walked into Woodbridge police headquarters on Monday, Dec. 11 and reported that he was taken advantage of while trying to sell his car online. The man said he posted his car for sale on an undisclosed website. He said he received an email from a man saying he would buy the car "as is," and would be sending him two checks in the mail, one for $14,500 (the asking price of the car) and another for $10,000. The man told him the first check would be canceled. The victim said that's because his bank, Bank of America, would hold the check for a longer period of time so both parties agreed the $10,000 check would clear faster.

On Dec. 2, the victim deposited the $10,000 check in his account. While waiting for it to clear, the man asked the Iselin resident for $3,000 to help his family move. The victim told police that "because he is a good person, and believed the man was legit," he took $2,000 of his own money and deposited it in the man's account

This past Friday, Dec. 8, Bank of America informed the victim that the $10,000 check was no good. He also was unable to reach the man when he tried to email and call him multiple times. The Iselin resident said he needed to report this with police in order to file a report with Bank of America.

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