Pennsylvania Man Charged With Facebook Marketplace Vehicle Sales Scam
A Pennsylvania man allegedly illegally sold vehicles on behalf of a dealership and local residents in a Facebook Marketplace scam. The Pennsylvania State Police also cited a business, Mountain Boss Hoss Cycle, for allegedly participating in the scam.
According to the police, around July 1st of 2024, the Pennsylvania State Police’s Vehicle Fraud Unit discovered several Facebook Marketplace listings. They were all listed under the account of one man from Bedford. He allegedly continued to advertise vehicles for sale on Facebook Marketplace until around November 17th of 2025.
Further investigation found that he was selling the vehicles for a dealership, Mountain Boss Hoss Cycle, located in Somerset County. The dealership allegedly sold several vehicles in this manner, even though the man never obtained a license.
Also, during the investigation, they found that the man had been advertising other vehicles for sale on behalf of private individuals on Facebook Marketplace.
Pennsylvania State Police charged both the man as well as Mountain Boss Hoss Cycle with violating the Pennsylvania Board of Vehicles Act.
Warning signs of a possible Facebook Marketplace vehicle sales scam
According to LifeLock, there are several vehicle-specific scams to watch out for when buying a car or truck on Facebook Marketplace.
- Watch out for Fake VIN checks or vehicle history reports. They can lead you to scam sites that steal your payment or personal information.
- Beware of scammers who claim to hold your money securely through fraudulent escrow services, when they actually control the funds.
- Suspicious links that appear to lead to other listings may actually direct you to websites outside of Facebook that are malicious.
- Excuses to avoid test drives are classic signs of a scam or the fact that there’s likely something wrong with the vehicle.
Other warning signs to look out for, according to Private Auto, include the seller asking for a gift card payment, sellers advertising a vehicle that “just needs” something small to be fixed, a seller asking for an upfront deposit to “hold the car,” and a seller insisting they need to call or text you to “confirm” you’re a real buyer. All of these are red flags that the seller may not be legitimate.
