RCMP arrested an Iraqi citizen and a Canadian woman in connection with an investigation into on online vintage car scam run on online auction sites. Akthem Saadi Yousif and Allana Nicole Austring were arrested in Vernon and charged with duping users of these sites on the pretext of selling them vintage cars.
The online auction fraud was run on an international scale. The arrests came after police forces from across the world conducted an investigation that went on for nine months. The duo allegedly duped 11 of their victims of $400, 000 although no money was recovered when the arrests were made.
Vintage car scam done through online auction sites.
The couple is alleged to have run the scam by posting fake photographs of vintage cars and making them available for sale. Popular auction sites like eBay and Craigslist were used for this purpose. Users of such sites, who became interested in the offer, may have contacted them after liking the photographs.
The duo is reported to have communicated with interested users using emails and phone calls. Money changed hands when the deals were finalized. Victims must have realized they had been scammed when communications with the seller must have abruptly broken off.
Frauds at online auction sites are the most common types of crimes committed online. According to an FBI report, they constitute as much as 50% of all crimes committed online. It is hard to track criminals down in such cases. It is precisely this facility that criminals take advantage of.
The arrested couple had tried to evade arrest by hiding their tracks online. But ultimately policemen caught up with them by following a money trail.