By Shawn Henry 
Classic car enthusiasts hunting for dream vehicles online are getting hit with a brutal new scam, and legitimate restoration shops are getting dragged into the mess along with them. Authorities and business owners in Connecticut say fraudsters have been impersonating real automotive companies, creating fake online listings and disappearing with massive wire transfers before victims realize the cars never existed.
The damage is already spreading across multiple states. Victims have reportedly lost tens of thousands of dollars chasing collector vehicles they believed were legitimate sales tied to real Connecticut businesses.
That’s where things change for anyone shopping online for a classic car.
Unlike modern dealership transactions, collector car deals often rely heavily on trust, phone conversations, photos, and reputation. Enthusiasts searching for rare vehicles routinely buy cars from across the country without ever setting foot on a lot. Scammers appear to understand exactly how that culture works, and according to the Better Business Bureau Serving Connecticut, they are exploiting it aggressively.
One of the victims was Michael Purvis of Wilmington, North Carolina, who reportedly lost $30,000 after responding to what appeared to be a legitimate online vehicle listing. According to information shared with the BBB Scam Tracker, Purvis communicated with the seller through calls, texts, and email before wiring the money for the purchase.
Then the operation vanished.
The phone number disappeared. The website disappeared. The listing disappeared.
And the money was gone.
The alleged scam centered around a fake Facebook advertisement and fraudulent website tied to the name Classic Leyland Restorations Powered by Premier Motorsports, LLC. The problem is the real businesses say they had nothing to do with the transactions.
This is where the story turns from ordinary online fraud into something much more damaging for the collector car world.
Liz Sapata, owner of Classic Leyland Restorations in Prospect, Connecticut, said her company became entangled in the situation after receiving contact from the Idaho Attorney General connected to another alleged victim who reportedly lost $25,000 trying to purchase a 1949 truck that did not exist.
According to Sapata, her shop only restores classic British cars and does not even sell vehicles. She also noted the business does not maintain a website or social media accounts, making the appearance of a fake Facebook page even more alarming.
That detail matters.
Scammers were not just inventing fake businesses from scratch. They were allegedly borrowing the names and reputations of legitimate automotive shops to create the appearance of credibility. For small restoration businesses, especially family-run operations, that kind of identity theft creates immediate chaos.
Sapata said the situation has disrupted daily operations because the business is now fielding unrelated calls tied to the fraudulent activity. Instead of focusing entirely on restoration work, the shop is being forced to answer questions connected to scams it says it had no role in creating.
And that’s where it gets complicated for buyers.
Many enthusiasts believe they are protecting themselves by researching businesses before sending money. In this case, at least one victim reportedly checked Connecticut business records to verify the company existed. The business name itself was real. That gave the transaction an appearance of legitimacy even though the alleged sellers were not actually connected to the company.
Richard Eyon of Twin Falls, Idaho, learned that the hard way.
Eyon reportedly researched the business through the Connecticut Secretary of the State website and even requested video footage of the truck he believed he was purchasing. Despite those efforts, he still became a victim of the scam.
The emotional fallout hit him almost as hard as the financial loss.
According to the BBB report, Eyon said the experience changed how he shops online altogether. That may end up becoming one of the biggest long-term consequences of schemes like this. Trust is everything in the classic car market, especially when vehicles are bought remotely. Once that trust collapses, legitimate enthusiasts and honest businesses both suffer.
Here’s the part that matters.
Classic car buyers often move quickly when they believe they have found a rare or desirable vehicle at a strong price. Fraudsters appear to understand that urgency. According to the BBB Serving Connecticut, one of the biggest warning signs is when a vehicle is priced drastically below market value.
Another major red flag appears when sellers refuse in-person inspections or avoid face-to-face meetings entirely.
That should immediately put buyers on alert.
Collector vehicles are high-dollar purchases, and legitimate sellers generally understand that buyers want verification, inspections, and documentation before wiring large amounts of money. When someone starts steering buyers away from inspections or pushing fast wire transfers, the risk level changes instantly.
Authorities and business owners are also warning buyers to pay close attention to where money is being sent. If payment instructions involve third-party accounts, gift cards, or bank-to-bank wire transfers that do not clearly match the business involved, that should stop the transaction cold.
Brandon Zuccaro, owner of Premier Motorsports LLC in Canton, stressed the importance of confirming the business owner’s identity and making sure financial information aligns with the company itself before sending money.
That sounds simple. In reality, scams like this are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
According to Eyon, after he reported the fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the Department of Homeland Security helped shut down the fraudulent website connected to the operation.
But the scam did not disappear.
Eyon reportedly said he continues seeing the same vehicles and photosurface repeatedly online under different names and phone numbers. That suggests the people behind the scheme are simply recycling listings and shifting identities once attention builds.
For enthusiasts, this creates a dangerous environment where even legitimate-looking businesses can become part of a scam without knowing it.
And that may be the most damaging part of the entire situation.
The classic car community depends heavily on reputation, word of mouth, and online visibility. Small restoration shops and specialty dealers survive because enthusiasts trust them. When scammers hijack those identities, they are not just stealing money from buyers. They are poisoning trust across the entire market.
For honest shops, that means more suspicion, more scrutiny, and more customers afraid to commit. For buyers, it means every online deal suddenly feels risky, even when the seller may be completely legitimate.
That is a serious problem for an enthusiast industry built almost entirely on passion, trust, and long-distance connections between people who love cars.
Source
John Lloyd 
Eve Nowell