(KMZA)--A $1,500 ripoff. 

That's what Nemaha County authorities say happened when a victim attempted to buy a vehicle from a web site that they believed was Ebay. 

Instead, Sheriff Rich Vernon says the site where the purchase was made was a spoof, leaving the hopeful auto owner with no vehicle and without their $1,500. “Basically an individual bought what he believed to be a vehicle over what he believed was Ebay,” said Nemaha County Sheriff Rich Vernon. “It turned out that it was a scam or a hoax whatever you want to call it. This individual gave his credit card numbers to this other individual over the payment center that was sent to him, and it turned out that this person was actually just using this system to take the individual for $1,500. What appeared to be very legitimate to this citizen turned out to be a scam.”

Vernon says prior to entering into any such financial agreements, due diligence is urged. “We ask that everyone make sure they know who they’re dealing with when they do anything over the internet or anything over the telephone,” Vernon said. “All too often is the case scam artists out there make things look very much like known organizations in order to deceive our citizens. If there is any doubt about what is going on you need to check with your local sheriff’s office to see if they can help you with it. But if it involves wiring or sending money via e-mail or via wire transfer, you have to be very, very careful. Because once these items go out there is very little chance of us getting them back.” 

There are currently no definite leads as to who was behind the scam, committed sometime between March 24th and March 26th, with the investigation ongoing.