Sgt. David Dawson said the seller told the Council Bluffs man to pay another man in Mississippi, wiring the money. The Offutt man told the buyer to list the Money Gram as “sending money to a relative” to avoid higher service fees. Dawson called that tactic a red flag for buyers. After the money was wired the man from Offutt was supposed to bring the Accord to the Council Bluffs man. That didn’t occur.

Dawson said the department will investigate the fraud but once the money is gone there’s little they can do.