The hunt for a used truck turned into financial heartbreak for a Florida couple who thought they’d found a great deal on Facebook Marketplace. In the end, though, it was all a scam.

Jeffrey and Susan Kolkedy of Orange County spent years building a small savings account

When Jeffrey decided to upgrade his 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche, he turned to Facebook Marketplace.

After all, millions of drivers use the platform like a virtual car lot.

What he found on Facebook seemed perfect: a low-mileage Chevy Avalanche listed by a company called Driveline Motor

It had just 8,000 miles, a clean Carfax report, and a professional-looking purchase agreement signed by the company’s “CEO.”

The price, $12,300, looked fair enough to seem real but good enough to move fast.

The Kolkedys agreed to buy the truck.

So the couple wired the full amount. Within days, though, everything unraveled

The seller’s website vanished. Phone lines went dead. Emails bounced. The dream truck never showed up.

The Kolkedys’ entire savings was gone.

Susan said it was the first savings account she’d ever had. That’s what makes this kind of scam so gutting. It preys on people’s trust.

The criminals used a name nearly identical to a real dealership, but with a subtle difference

Driveline Motorcars is a legitimate business. The scammers used “Driveline Motor.” Add a legit-looking website, working phone numbers, and “company” email addresses. It’s all a trick that makes fraudulent entities seem real.

The Federal Trade Commission reports that Americans lost $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024

That’s a 25% jump from the previous year.

Car scams are a fast-growing slice of that. They’re fueled by social media platforms where listings go live instantly and oversight barely exists.

Holly Salmons of the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida explained that Facebook doesn’t verify who’s behind the listings

She urged buyers to treat high-dollar purchases like major transactions, not casual clicks.

See the vehicle in person, avoid wiring funds, and use a credit card if possible. Credit payments can be disputed, wire transfers cannot.

Susan, the victim, was blunt about where she places the blame

“Shame on Facebook,” she said, adding that the platform shouldn’t host a marketplace without better protections.

Jeffrey now says he’ll never buy a vehicle without seeing it himself again.