TANGENT - All Catherine Nelson wants is an inexpensive used car that runs well. Her 17-year-old car has nearly 200,000 miles and an engine that’s running on borrowed time.

Nelson needs something reliable to get her back and forth to her job working with autistic children through the local Education Service District. She and her husband, Francis Romano, were ecstatic when they found a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder for sale for $3,200 on the popular Internet site Craig’s List.

The two-owner SUV was within their budget and sounded like an answer to their prayers.

“Being a spoiled vehicle, the previous owner insisted that it be kept in the garage ... no, this vehicle is not a one-owner, but you will be proud to own it,” the advertisement read.

The couple’s joy turned to sorrow and frustration upon learning they had been scammed by someone who provided false information designed to make them think the transaction was protected by services provided by eBay.

“We had contacted eBay several times before we sent the MoneyGram, but we never heard back from them until the day after we sent the money,” Romano explained. “Catherine was very nervous about sending money this way, we just haven’t done it before and we were trying to be as careful as possible.”

The couple wired $3,315 on Jan. 31. The next day they realized they had been scammed when they couldn’t track their purchase through normal eBay channels. Romano learned that the seller was supposedly in Utah, so he contacted the FBI office in Salt Lake City. They were told they would have to follow the chain of command. In the last six weeks they have filed seven more complaints with the FBI and haven’t received any personal contact, Romano said.

The scammer had sent the couple several documents to ease their fears about sending so much money sight unseen. All looked like real eBay documents but were fake. When Romano contacted eBay by telephone, he was told they had been “spoofed.”

Romano says looking back over paperwork sent by the scammer, several red flags should have popped out at him. A purchase confirmation letter contained grammatical errors and the return e-mail address was not from eBay.

“We have no hope of getting our money back,” Nelson said.

“I’m going to have to drive my car until it drops,” she continued. “I hope it lasts long enough for me to save up money to buy another car. I’m sick about it but I won’t let this rule my life. I’m going to write to as many places as I can and hope that other people don’t get scammed in the same way. You definitely need to check everything.”

The Federal Trade Commission warns online buyers they should never wire money to a seller’s account unless they “know the seller personally or can verify the seller’s identity. Buyers should be suspicious of sellers who insist on wire transfers as the only form of payment they will accept. If something goes wrong with the transaction, you most likely will lose your payment and not have any recourse.”

Alex Paul can be reached at alex.paul@lee.net or 812-6076.