Woman loses $52k buying item on Facebook – but seller didn’t get away with it

A WOMAN thought she was scoring a sweet deal on Facebook Marketplace but it turned into a $52,000 nightmare.

But thanks to a digital paper trail, the seller who allegedly duped her didn’t get away with it.

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The drama began last November when a woman tried to purchase an excavator.

She spotted a listing on Facebook Marketplace and agreed to fork over $52,000 for the heavy-duty equipment.

But once the money was sent, the seller vanished.

No machine. No delivery. No way to get the money back, or so it seemed.

Enter Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood and his team.

Because she was paid via transfer, detectives were able to follow a digital paper trail to a suspect.

Using bank records and other resources, Volusia Sheriff’s Office financial crimes detectives tracked down the seller outside Detroit on April 8.

Demetria Latimer, 59, was flown back to Florida to face charges of grand theft and running an organized scheme to defraud.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood met her at the airport to confront her over the alleged $52,000 theft.

“I am the reason that you’re here,” he told her in video of the confrontation.

“We don’t like our residents to become victims of fraud.”

The suspect was slapped with charges of grand theft and running an organized scheme to defraud.

The theft happened in Orange City, Florida, about a 40-minute drive from Orlando – but authorities say she could be linked to similar scams nationwide.

“We have probable cause to believe Demetria played a key role in laundering money not only from our victim but possibly others across the country,” Sheriff Chitwood wrote in a Facebook post.

But Latimer had a stunning reaction when she was confronted by Sheriff Chitwood.

“I’m a victim myself,” Latimer claimed.

She was hauled into court Tuesday at 1:30 pm for her first appearance.

Despite the massive loss, the victim’s money was recovered, Chitwood confirmed.

Authorities didn’t reveal exactly how they recovered the cash but credited the digital trail Latimer left behind.

Internet scams are pretty common across the country.

62-year-old Vanessa White Fernandes from Scranton, Pennsylvania, lost her entire life savings of $50,000 in a phone scam that led her to believe she was facing jail time.

She was contacted by someone posing as an official from the Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Office, who claimed she had missed an important court hearing.

The caller insisted she would be sent to jail unless she paid a fine immediately, prompting Fernandes to withdraw over $50,000 from her retirement and savings over the span of three weeks.

Desperate to avoid jail, Fernandes complied, sending large sums of money to the fraudster.

It wasn’t until later that she realized the entire ordeal was a sophisticated scam designed to steal her life savings.

Bank tips for avoiding scams

As scams become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important you know how to spot a scam:

• Be skeptical of online deals that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
• Scammers will often use tactics to make you panicked so you make quick decisions – be cautious if you are told to take immediate action and verify who has contacted you.
• Chase Bank warns customers to “never return any unexpected funds without calling Chase first.”
• Never send money to someone you have only spoken to online or by phone as this is likely a romance scam.
• Unless you 100% know who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
• Never accept help from strangers at an ATM and always be vigilant when making withdrawals.
• Do not send money or click any links indicating that you have won a prize.

Source: Chase.com