Selling a car on your own can seem like an attractive option, because you get all the profit.

But there are risks involved, as the person in this story found out the hard way.

Here’s how he got back at a scammer who gave him plenty of evidence to use against him.

Evidence he took to court.

The traffic tickets became the least of his problems…

A few years back my old car was on its last legs.

I put it up on Craigslist for $500 and got a bite.

The buyer said that if it lasted 6 months he’d be happy with the purchase, so he signed the bill of sale and I handed over the title.

I immediately went to the DMV website and registered it as a sale and assumed he would finish the process by transferring the title.

But that wasn’t the end of the matter.

Turns out I was wrong about two things: the car lasted much longer than 6 months, and he didn’t bother to pay the $77 to transfer the title.

I discovered this when I received a photo radar ticket for running a red light.

When I went online to view the high-res traffic cam photos I found it was the buyer in my old car, but my name was still attached to the plates!

So I copied all the records, dates, bill of sale, etc. and mailed them to the courthouse.

It was his citation but I had to prove it to the court.

I discovered this scam is pretty common.

Some folks buy a junker and rack up fines until they wreck or abandon the car and their name was never on it so nobody bothers to punish them for it.

By the time the seventh ticket arrived, enough was enough.

So he turned up the heat.

First I called the police and, after a week of back and forth, finally spoke with a traffic cop who went to pay the guy a visit.

The tickets and late fees were several times the value of the car.

I went through my records of every ticket and every photo, and noticed that in every photo, his tiny kids were in the backseat, including the newborn infant.

I called Child Protective Services anonymously.

The tickets showed that this guy was operating an identity fraud scheme out of his home, essentially stealing my identity and who knows how many others.

His children were present throughout.

Furthermore, he regularly violated traffic rules and put his children in serious danger by speeding, running red lights, and committing other traffic violations.

I declined to provide my name or number and gave them all the evidence I had.

After that I stopped getting traffic tickets from him.

Maybe the car finally gave out.

Here is what folks are saying.

Some people love to speed and park wherever they want.

I sure hope he did, but I’m cynical.

Good rule of thumb.

That sounds a lot safer, albeit annoying.

I somehow doubt this would work.

I hate con artists.

They deserve whatever they get.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.