CALHAN, Colo. — A Calhan-area farmer says he lost $20,000 after wiring money for a backhoe he found online — equipment that never arrived.
Now, the Federal Trade Commission is warning scammers are increasingly impersonating legitimate farm equipment businesses online, targeting farmers and rural families searching for heavy equipment deals.
“When my son and I drove up to Denver to where their site was, and it was an empty lot,” Stephen Hunt told Denver7 Investigates' Jaclyn Allen.
Hunt, who lives southeast of Calhan in El Paso County, said he had been looking for a backhoe to help build a log cabin on his 37-acre property.
“My son was in hospital, and to kill some time in the hospital, he was looking for backhoes for me,” Hunt said. “And this site just happened to pop up.”
Hunt said the website appeared legitimate and even seemed connected to a real farm equipment business.
“They changed one of their names in the title work,” Hunt said.
He said the site included photos of heavy equipment and what appeared to be an auction yard.
“The price was $21,000 is what they were asking,” Hunt said. “But I asked them if they would come down to 20.”
He said the sellers agreed: "They could even have it delivered to me.”
Hunt said he was instructed to wire the money to a Wells Fargo account in San Francisco.
“When I talked to my bank... he said that everything looks good,” Hunt said. “It looks like a legit company, legit site.”
The backhoe was supposed to be delivered days later.
“They were supposed to deliver me the backhoe on a Thursday evening,” Hunt said.
But it never arrived.
“I called Friday morning, and they said, ‘Well, there was a little mix-up,’” Hunt said. “I still haven’t got the backhoe.”
According to the FTC, scammers are increasingly impersonating farm equipment businesses through online ads, fake websites and fraudulent listings.
In a recent consumer alert, the agency warned scammers often pressure buyers to pay by wire transfer because “once they’ve collected the money, it’s almost impossible to get it back.”
The FTC said scammers may create convincing websites, invoices and purchase agreements while pretending to be real businesses.
Hunt said investigators later told him the website looked convincing.
According to Hunt, investigators determined the money was quickly transferred overseas.
“As soon as the wire that we sent got into Wells Fargo in San Francisco, the money was transferred immediately out international,” he said.
Hunt said losing the money has impacted plans for his property and cabin project.
“That’s what I was going to use to dig the hole and set the logs and everything to build my house out here on my 37 acres,” he said.
He also says he is still paying the bank for equipment he never received.
Asked what that has been like emotionally, Hunt said:
“Well, being a Christian, you just learn to deal with it. I just fight my way through it and keep on going.”
Now, he wants others to learn from what happened.
“Just be real careful and extremely cautious,” Hunt said. “The wiring of money, that’s a trigger to say that it’s a fraud. Don’t do it.”
The FTC recommends consumers:
- Research companies before sending money
- Search online for complaints or scam reports
- Be cautious of sponsored search results or online ads
- Avoid paying by wire transfer, cryptocurrency, gift cards or payment apps
Anyone who believes they may have been targeted by a scam can report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Hunt’s family has also created a GoFundMe to help recover some of the money lost in the alleged scam and continue work on the family’s cabin project
