Windsor Locks detectives are investigating a scam that targets online auction bidders while duping others into converting victims’ payments into cryptocurrency.
The investigation has widened to include the FBI and law enforcement in other states, all focused on a rip-off scheme that lures victims with bargains on boats, recreational vehicles and other motorized equipment.
The local victim told police on April 20 that he had answered an ad on Facebook for an excavator. The ad linked to the website of an auction company called TYMAC Repo, police said. On March 28, the man offered $17,970 for the machine and received an email and invoice the next day telling him he had won the bid, according to a search warrant in the case. Following instructions, the victim wired payment to a JP Morgan Chase bank account in El Paso, Texas and was told to expect delivery on April 14.
The machine, however, never arrived and the man told police he was unable to contact the auction company. It turned out that TYMAC Repo was the subject of numerous online posts labeling the company a front for scam artists, police said. Det. Sgt. Jeff Lampson said he found the company’s website inactive and a phone number was routed to voicemail.
Police discovered the same con was pulled in other states. The Better Business Bureau dedicates a page to online auction scams – .
People seeking to buy RVs, boats, tractors, trucks and construction equipment have wired money to TYMAC Repo and…
