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Bill Thomas was looking forward to some time on the road. He began searching for a motorhome on Facebook Marketplace and soon found a 2014 Winnebago listed at a price that caught his attention.
Thomas emailed the seller and received a reply confirming the price of $22,500. The message explained the RV was a repossessed unit, which was why it was priced lower than typical market value. The seller also stated they had no physical showroom or inspection area and that all sales were handled online.
Thomas was told to complete a purchase agreement and return it. He then received an invoice that included the purchase price and shipping fees, along with instructions to wire the payment. He sent $22,650 by wire transfer and waited for delivery. The RV never arrived.
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How the Scam Worked
News 6 later discovered the scammers had taken the name of a legitimate Florida business, Florida Recreational Marketing, which is registered with the state. They built a fake website using that name. The phone number listed on the site changed frequently—starting with a 407 area code while Thomas was in contact with them, later switching to a disconnected 386 number. The address on the website belonged to a different company altogether.
Marketplace Listings Are Not Verified
Holly Salmons, president of the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida, said many people mistakenly believe social media platforms verify listings before they appear. In reality, those platforms do not conduct background checks or confirm the legitimacy of sellers.
“The social site is not going to do vetting for you,” Salmons said. “Just because there’s a listing doesn’t mean anyone has done any sort of vetting. That’s on you.”
How to Reduce the Risk of Being Scammed
For high-value purchases like RVs, Salmons advises never sending money without first seeing and inspecting the item in person. She also recommends not sending more than you can afford to lose if something goes wrong.
Additional precautions include:
- Communicating only through the platform instead of email or external websites.
- Checking the seller’s profile for transaction history, reviews, or ratings.
- Being cautious of sellers who pressure you to pay quickly.
- Avoiding payment methods like wire transfers or gift cards, which are difficult to trace and nearly impossible to reverse.
Thomas says he won’t make the same mistake again. “If I buy something, I’m gonna touch it, feel it, see it,” he said.
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