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Johnson County man loses $1,500 in eBay texting fraud scheme

JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — A Johnson County resident is out $1,500 after becoming the victim of fraud through an unusual eBay purchase.

According to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, the victim was asked by text on Monday to use three $500 eBay gift cards as payment for a used pickup truck, sending the card numbers to 1-888-274-2921, a different phone number than the one associated with the truck sale post.

The victim, who had planned to go to Nebraska and purchase the truck with cash, received text messages telling him the seller was on active military duty and she would not be available to complete the transaction. Instead, according to the text messages, a family member would take care of the sale.

After sending the eBay gift card numbers by text message, the victim was informed by eBay that his purchase was not able to be completed because the seller lacked insurance on the truck. That’s when he realized he might have been a victim of fraud.

When the victim tried to get in touch with the seller using the original phone number, a male answered and provided no help retrieving the $1,500.

This investigation is ongoing.

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