Heavy Equipment Sales
Beacon Equipment HaulersInformation and Alerts
Alert Details
This business has 1 alert.
Alert
Beginning in January 2025, BBB has investigated two "would be" transport companies claiming to be Beacon Equipment Haulers, and Bartram's Equipment Sales & Service. This investigation was prompted by consumer inquires, scam
tracker reports of victims losses to date estimated just under $150K. Victims and consumers report finding these companies on websites Equipment Trader, and social media sites such as Facebook Marketplace when looking for equipment. The scenario described; A would be
representative of the company, contacts the consumers via text message
and email providing stolen pictures of machinery, serial numbers, VIN numbers, various documents, Bill of Sale that appear to be legitimate, and financial institution wiring
instructions to send payment of merchandise. The "would be" company's calls or texts
will continue with consumer until payment by wire transfer is received. One victim watched his shipment progress on the website until it was shutdown, telling the buyer "the shipment included many drop offs and was just taking longer than expected". Next, typically within about three days, all
communications end, and of course no merchandise is shipped. The company websites have been taken down. These Facebook marketplace ads for equipment sales appears to be "spoofing" other company addresses, names and Facebook sellers profiles in their advertisements. The cycle continues just new name, website, "spoofing" new location and contact info. It is typical for these types of scams to take place when they find consumers looking in one area of the country and can create a fake business far away making it more difficult to see the merchandise and will require shipping to another state. The scammer will usually have some reason why you can't see the merchandise in person. So they use stolen pictures and VIN/serial numbers to make it appear real to the buyer. The cycle continues just new name, website, "spoofing" new location and contact information.
BBB verified the company Beacon Equipment Haulers is not a company located in Amarillo Texas and Bartram's Equipment Sales & Service is not a company located in Tulia Texas. These companies Beacon Equipment Haulers and Bartram's Equipment Sales & Services are "spoofing" other company addresses, names and Facebook seller's profiles.
If you have provided payment information to Beacon Equipment Haulers or Bartram's Equipment Sales & Service, BBB recommends
that you file a BBB Scam Tracker submission here:
www.bbb.org/scamtracker/reportscam.
Or reach out to our office (806) 379-6222.
As of February 5, 2025, BBB has still been unable to reach either business in question.
We also recommend that you also file a complaint with the
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), administered by the Federal Bureau of
Investigations (FBI). You can file a complaint with IC3 here: www.ic3.gov/Home/ComplaintChoice.
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