GREEN, Ohio — A woman near Akron was just trying to buy a camper but, in the end, she lost thousands of dollars. What makes it even worse is that Cherie Ross feels like she's getting no help whatsoever.
"It's like somebody took away everything that I have worked for,” Ross said as she teared up.
A couple months ago, Ross, from Green, saw an online ad for a camper. She has a friend in the RV business and asked him to see if the camper was legit.
"He said ‘yes’ that it was and that if I could get it at that price it was a steal,” Ross said.
Ross tried to use PayPal, but the seller told her to wire $18,500 dollars.
It was a red flag, but Ross went to Huntington Bank where she has her business account.
"I was afraid,” Ross said. “It was a lot of money to be transferring."
She said Huntington helped her, checked out the ad that used an eBay Motors logo, looked up the sellers and verified the addresses on the site.
"And [the Huntington employee] said that 'you don't have a problem. This is all legit. Everything adds up,'” Ross claimed.
With a click of a button, the funds were transferred to an account with PNC Bank. Ross waited and waited, but no confirmation of the sale came from eBay. She called eBay and they told her criminals scammed her.
"They have taken away my livelihood,” Ross said. “And they deserve to be punished."
Ross contacted Huntington Bank and PNC. She even wrote letters to their CEOs. So far, she's been given no real information yet about what they're doing to track down the sellers of the camper.
"I feel like nobody is listening,” Ross said.
News 5 contacted PNC multiple times, but it refused to answer many of our basic questions. It did say in part “...PNC will fully comply with any law enforcement investigation into this matter."
Ross' has her personal banking account with PNC. "While my money is being put in there, it's all good,” Ross told us. “But once I need (PNC), then it's all for not. It's like I don't even exist.”
News 5 also asked Huntington Bank what it's doing to track down Ross’ money. It eventually sent a statement that says in part "...We empathize with victims of fraud and deception...we strongly recommend that consumers know the recipient of wire transfers."
Ross said Huntington did refund her $49.99 for the transfer fee. That’s 50 bucks of the $18,500.
Ross acknowledged she signed the wire transfer and she's at least partly to blame, of course, but she also feels more should be done by banks and politicians for fraud victims.
"There has to be better laws enacted to stop this,” Ross said.
After all that happened, Ross called 5 On Your Side Investigators hoping to warn you because that camper ad remains online. Scammers are camping out waiting for your money.
"It happened to me. It can happen to you,” Ross said. “Make sure you can touch, feel, see what you are purchasing."
Here’s PNC Bank’s Statement to News 5:
PNC regrets that we cannot discuss the details of Ms. Ross’ situation, as we cannot comment on individual and specific complaints. PNC maintains standard processes for account opening and identifying potentially suspicious activity. We also thoroughly review and promptly respond to complaints, and we take appropriate action. Our commitment to addressing concerns includes treating customers and others with respect, as well as providing information intended to help them protect themselves against potential scams. We will cooperate with law enforcement personnel on any investigation related to this matter.
Here’s Huntington Bank’s statement to News 5:
We empathize with victims of fraud and deception. In instances where it is one of our customers, our customer support team engages to navigate the process of reporting the crime to the FBI, and we aid and cooperate fully with law enforcement to every extent possible to help them find justice. We also work closely with our customers to prevent fraud through education, technology and other services. We strongly recommend that consumers know the recipient of wire transfers.
Here are a couple of quick tips about buying things online:
- Safely meet with the person you're dealing with
- Visit the product in person
- Get all identifiable information about the sellers
- If possible, use PayPal or a credit card when you buy.
eBay Motors sent News 5 this statement as well:
Scam artists will list items for sale on fake landing pages, Craigslist or other non-eBay trading sites, and promise eBay’s protection as a means of completing the scam, but these transactions don’t take place on the eBay platform. Criminals often exploit well-known, trusted brand names like eBay to attract consumers and then lure them onto fake websites and into fraudulent transactions. We always encourage all our shoppers to be cautious when they aren’t purchasing directly through the eBay website. We provide tips for safe shopping and warning signs to look out for scams on the eBay Security Center [pages.ebay.com] page.
