A Texas woman went viral on TikTok after revealing how she and her husband lost $30,000 to a scammer on Facebook Marketplace while trying to replace a totaled truck.

Brittany Patton (@brittany.patton) said her husband was in a car accident on November 3, 2023. With his old truck wrecked and insurance money still pending, the couple decided to use their own savings to quickly find a replacement. They turned to Facebook Marketplace—and that’s where things unraveled.

They found a truck they loved. But in the end, they handed over $30,000 to a scammer who lied about the vehicle’s identity and ownership.

“We lost that money, never to be seen again,” Patton said in one of her now-viral videos. “It could happen to you, too. We’re not idiots.”

As of this writing, her video detailing how the scam went down—and all the red flags they missed—had racked up more than 143,500 views.

What Red Flags Did She Miss?

Patton admitted Facebook Marketplace probably wasn’t the smartest place to search for a car, but they were desperate. Looking back, though, she said there were “lots of red flags that we should’ve paid attention to.”

For starters, the truck—she didn’t name the make or model—was listed at $35,000. A “really good deal,” she said. Still, she tried to verify it. On the drive to meet the seller, she called the local police department to run the license plate on the truck. It checked out. So did the VIN—or so she thought.

But the moment they met the seller, things got weird.

The man didn’t speak English, so they communicated via Google Translate. (Red flag.) He claimed the truck belonged to his uncle, who was conveniently not there. Patton had to call the “uncle” to negotiate the price.

“I talked him down another $5,000, and he immediately took my offer, which was another red flag,” she said.

The entire deal was done in cash. First, they handed over $500 to hold the truck. The next day, they brought the rest, roughly $30,000, and completed the sale.

The seller didn’t have a valid US driver’s license, just a Venezuelan ID card. Patton took a photo of it and made plans to meet him again the next morning.

“We thought in the worst case scenario, we would lose $500,” she explained.

They were wrong.

Trouble Starts After She Brings the Car Home

At first, everything seemed fine. But after bringing the truck home, Patton and her husband discovered an AirTag inside. They said they feared the scammers were planning to track and steal the vehicle.

They called the local sheriff’s department—but, as Patton put it, “a crime hadn’t been committed yet.” Then came more red flags. The horn had been disconnected, which Patton assumed was to prevent them from hitting the panic button during a potential theft attempt.

Still, they moved forward, got insurance, paid taxes, and registered the truck.

That’s when things truly fell apart.

They realized the plates were paper. Worse, the truck had been VIN swapped—it was posing as a completely different vehicle. The real truck, they learned, had been stolen in San Antonio the day before her husband’s accident.

“We were in possession of a car that had been stolen over two weeks ago,” Patton said.

Fearing her husband could be arrested, Patton voluntarily turned him and the truck in. She called it a harrowing experience but said it was a cautionary tale for anyone looking to buy a car online.

Is It Safe to Use Facebook to Buy a Car? 

Buying a car off Facebook Marketplace can work, but only if you take your time and stay cautious. Scammers know how to prey on urgency, especially when someone needs a car fast.

Yahoo! Finance reported a list of tips and tricks for buyers, including checking the seller’s profile. If it looks new or empty, that’s a red flag. Make sure they actually own the car—ask to see their ID (ideally, a valid US one), the title, and the registration. And if any names don’t match, be comfortable walking away.

Don’t just eyeball the car. Inspect it carefully, inside and out. Look for rust, leaks, or signs of tampering. Always take it for a test drive and check everything. If possible, bring a mechanic to catch anything you might miss.

Run the VIN through a database to check for wrecks, recalls, or theft. And confirm that the title is clean, not salvaged or rebuilt.

On the money side, it said to never pay anything upfront before seeing the car. Avoid cash if you can. Safer options include bank transfers, PayPal, or escrow services—never gift cards. And always get a written bill of sale with the final price and terms.

And when meeting, pick a busy, public spot. If the seller is pressuring you to move fast or making the deal sound too good to pass up, that’s probably because it is.

Viewers Warn Against Cash Deals

After Patton’s story went viral, other viewers chimed in with their own horror stories about buying cars online—and paying in cash.

“My son-in-law bought a truck from Texas and paid cash,” one person wrote, “went to license the truck and it was stolen. He lost $45,000. Learned the hard way he won’t be buying anything from a person, only a dealership.”

“Happened to me with a 9K Jeep,” another said. “Caught on fire on the way home, guy blocked up, and it was a total scam. Hard lesson learned for sure.”

“Same exact thing! Every single thing checked out perfectly! Lost $19k. It definitely sucks that law enforcement can’t really do anything about this,” a third commenter added.

Others zeroed in on what they saw as glaring red flags in Patton’s story.

“First red flag was talking him down $5k on a truck you said was already a really good deal,” one person said. 

“Don’t give a deposit and don’t carry that much cash,” another advised.

“35K in a private sale would be a huge no,” added a third viewer.

“You lost me at cash and Venezuela ID card,” someone else quipped.

Motor1 has reached out to Patton via TikTok direct message.

 
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