The scams keep getting bolder in 2025. Some crooks pose as sellers on Facebook Marketplace and vanish the moment a buyer wires cash. Others clone VINs and flip stolen cars with paperwork that looks legit until you go to register the vehicle.

And then there’s a quiet hustle happening behind loading gates and truck lots, where new and used cars never touch their intended driveway because thieves intercept them mid-journey.

Georgia investigators said this shipping scam has spread across the country. They called it simple, repeatable, and highly lucrative.

It’s shockingly easy, investigators say, and nearly impossible to stop

It can happen whenever someone buys a car from a private seller or dealership out of state. Once a deal is made and a sales agreement signed, it’s time to ship the car.

Buyers, brokers, or dealerships hop online to request a carrier. They make a deal with one and schedule the pickup, which ultimately goes smoothly.

But in these cases, the cars disappear, never to arrive at the requested destination.

The formula hides in plain sight

In many of the theft scenarios, a scammer bids in, claims to be a licensed carrier, and accepts the job. Then they often repost the same load as if they’re the broker.

A real carrier shows up with a truck, picks up the car, and unknowingly hands it over to criminals at the end of the run.

By the time the original broker realizes what happened, the car and the payout have disappeared

As a former manager, Travis Payne used to move high-end luxury and performance cars every day at Auto Barn LLC in Newnan, Georgia. He says these days, protecting the cars has now become a full-time concern.

He dealt with the scam firsthand after buying a $300k Rolls Royce Cullinan for a customer.

Payne lined up a carrier on a Friday and expected the SUV to get delivered by Monday. That never happened.

The excuses rolled in. Someone claimed the driver went to the hospital. Another response insisted the pickup never happened.

Payne checked with the Arizona dealership and got a slip confirming the handoff. But the paperwork didn’t look right. It was missing a carrier company name, and listed California as the destination, not Georgia.

Eventually a text arrived after one in the morning that read, “Nice car, mother f—–.”

Fraud specialist Barry Bannister said he has worked more than one hundred of these cases in two years

Including a $269k Maserati and a $165k Audi RS that went missing on its way from Chamblee to Nebraska.

Detectives later traced that Audi to Tampa and arrested suspects, although recoveries remain rare.

It’s happening to celebrities, too. Reportedly, Shaquille O’Neal’s custom Range Rover was ripped away last month in the same sort of shipping scam.

Investigators urge shippers to verify Department of Transportation numbers, insist on a proper bill of lading, check insurance, and keep constant communication.

Buyers should cross-check the VIN in multiple locations and walk away when anything feels off.