Dealer stuck in Internet scam

Motorcycle Warehouse, a Portland, Ore., pre-owned dealership was recently caught in the middle of a Craigslist scam when the scammers published the dealership’s phone number as their own, KOIN-TV reported.

A phony ad for a 2013 Gold Wing was posted on Craigslist, claiming the owner of the bike was overseas while having the bike stored at Motorcycle Warehouse. Those who responded to the ad were told they had to pay a European transportation company to ship the bike. However, there was no such bike at Motorcycle Warehouse, and the dealership was unaware of the posting until people began calling, inquiring about the bike. At least one potential buyer is out $5,000 because of the scam.

KOIN emailed the website of the European transportation company referenced in the scam, asking why the Motorcycle Warehouse phone number was on its website, and a day later, the transportation company’s website was down. A representative from the Better Business Bureau hasn’t found any record for that transportation company.

To read more about the scam and to see video from KOIN, click here.