Scams come in all shapes, sizes, and formats.”

Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes

Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes is warning of a scam he was recently made aware of, involving classic cars listed at far below market value.
Contacted the morning of Monday, March 3 by a concerned citizen who now lives outside of Wisconsin, Sheriff Hakes was made aware of a website using a Cadott business name and claiming to sell classic automobiles.
Unable to view the website on his county issued device due to a known spam filter, Hakes accessed the supposed website via his personal device. While ostensibly from a Cadott business, the website description on one classic car listed “Skyway Classics” rather than the supposed Cadott business name.
From there Hakes was able to contact the website’s listed business number with 534 area code on Tuesday, March 4. Hakes made contact with “Andrew” regarding a detailed 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS that was listed for sale. Andrew claimed to work for the business and said that he found good deals, asking 20 percent or $4,000 to hold the vehicle for two weeks, with a vehicle shipping cost of $250.
Hakes contacted the real Cadott business owner, who confirmed that the address given was a local Cadott residence and that the business in question did not have a website or much social media presence. Hakes then notified the business owner that they were a victim due to their business name being used and that this would be redacted from any media release. Sheriff Hakes then notified the Eau Claire FBI and discussed the matter, before calling Andrew back.
“I then called Andrew and informed him that I knew he did not have dealership, he assured me that he
did. I informed him that I lived locally and had driven by, and I confirmed the dealership did not exist as he claimed. Andrew then hung up on me. I informed Andrew via-text message that I was the local Sheriff and that I was disappointed he was attempting to scam people in our area,” Hakes wrote.
Hakes then called Bank of America at 1-800-900-9044 to report suspected fraudulent activity on the account being used by Andrew.
“At the time of this document, I am unaware of any victims that have had a financial loss,” he wrote in his report. “This website was reported to the Federal Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). It was determined the best course of action was to document this matter.”
Hakes shared more on the importance of informing the public.
“I think it is imperative that we share this information with the public,” he said. “Scams come in all shapes, sizes, and formats; just last week I had to get a new personal Debit Card because mine had been compromised. This particular scam involving the Camaro was fairly detailed.”
Hakes then shared the following key details to detect a scam.
1. Does it seem too good to be true?
2. Would a reasonable person educated in the area believe it?
3. Pay attention to the details. Verify names, addresses, phone numbers.
4. Ask for specific details you can verify with an outside source.
5. Contact Law Enforcement, your bank, or someone you trust to ask their opinion.
6. Do not send money, or personal information unless you’ve verified it with a trusted person.
“I spent several hours of time on this matter with no identified victim in an attempt to proactively raise awareness to these types of scams,” Hakes said. “The concerned citizen lives on the opposite side of the Country, who just happened to have a friend who knew me. Sometimes the scams happen to our residents, and sometimes the scammers pretend to reside here. Either way, our Office is committed to proactively addressing public safety and grateful we could raise awareness in this matter. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our Office to report anything you feel is suspicious.”
Those with tips on suspicious matters like the above can reach out to the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office on its non-emergency line at 715-726-7701.