Scammers Use Rubber Check to Swindle Classic 1976 Corvette

Have you seen this Corvette? Thieves in South Carolina used funny money to get their hands on this C3 beauty. 

Some criminals are not brazen, they’re coy and clever. And those are the ones that are hard to spot, and even harder to catch. One unlucky Corvette  seller in South Carolina found this the hard way. Sometimes you can’t believe what you see, and what you see might not be what it seems.

The Laurens Country Sherriff’s Office are looking for two men who purchased the 1976 C3 Corvette with a counterfeit cashiers check. A man was trying to sell the oh-so-pretty classic on Facebook. The unnamed seller was contacted by by some interested potential buyers.

As one does in such a situation, he shared a few pictures of his beautiful bicentennial-bred ‘Vette, a pristine third-gen Corvette. Next, he agreed to meet up with the buyers. On New Year’s Day, the gents showed up–in a Kia, no less. According to The State newspaper, they gave the seller a cashier’s check as payment. And then they drove off in that clean, vintage Corvette.

It wasn’t until later that the seller realized that the check was fraudulent. At that point, the Corvette was long gone. Ouch.

But, the boys in blue have not given up on the sweet ride. The Laurens County Sheriff intends to return the ‘Vette to its rightful owner, and lay down the law on the scam artists. Thankfully, the Corvette owner had home security, and captured both their mugs and getaway Kia on camera.

If you have any information on the ’76 Corvette, contact the authorities.

As far as keeping your Corvette safe from these types of scams, we would recommend the following. Be safe and thorough, do your research, and bring a friend along for any transactions–preferably a big friend. When it comes to exchanging monies, consider using a trusted third-party seller such as PayPal and Western Union; or a trusted payment app like Venmo. Also, before listing your vehicle check with your state’s DMV to get the necessary information about automotive sales.

Or, if we may plug, try a trusted community–such as Corvette Forumforums and marketplace.

Photo: Laurens County Sheriff’s Office

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