Update: The “Totally Legitimate” TikTok Car Seller Blocked Me
Well, that escalated quickly.
I've been documenting the TikTok account landmark75, which describes itself as “Landmark Auto” and has been advertising vehicles at prices that raised plenty of questions—including a supposed 2021 Dodge Scat Pack with 45,000 miles for $4,000 with $500 down.
Then they contacted me.
At 2:45 in the morning.
They assured me:
“have no intentions of scamming you or anybody here I'm just on here to sell cars to make a living that's all.”
Great.
So I started asking questions.
Apparently, that was the problem.
🚗 I Asked Where the Dealership Was Located
This shouldn't have been difficult.
They told me:
Savannah, Georgia.
Okay.
I asked:
What's the address?
Not exactly an interrogation worthy of the FBI.
If you're operating a car lot and offering to sell and ship vehicles to customers, asking where the car lot is located seems like a fairly reasonable question.
I wanted information I could independently verify.
Then something interesting happened.
😂 Apparently I Asked One Question Too Many
Today I went back to the TikTok account.
The profile is still there.
At the time of my latest screenshot, it showed:
1,261 followers
4,803 likes
The bio still says:
“Landmark Auto 🚗”
“Your Trusted Auto Dealer”
It still lists a Gmail address.
It still says:
“WhatsApp only”
But now the videos are gone—from my view.
TikTok tells me:
“No content”
and:
“You cannot view the videos due to this user's privacy settings.”
Well, that's convenient.
The account that contacted me in the middle of the night and wanted to discuss selling me a vehicle apparently no longer wants me looking at its vehicle listings.
🚩 Let's Review the Timeline
This is what makes the progression interesting.
I saw vehicles advertised at unusually low prices and down payments.
I started documenting them.
The account contacted me.
I openly questioned whether the operation was legitimate.
They told me they had no intention of scamming anybody and were simply trying to make a living selling cars.
I asked where the business was located.
They gave me a city and state:
Savannah, GA.
I asked for the actual street address.
And now I can no longer view their TikTok content.
That's what I can document from my screenshots.
Whether TikTok's restriction reflects a block or another privacy setting, I can't determine that independently from this screen alone. But the result for me is the same:
I can't see their videos anymore.
🤔 That's an Interesting Way to Build Customer Confidence
Remember, their profile calls them:
“Your Trusted Auto Dealer”
Trust generally works better when customers can verify things.
If I were considering sending hundreds of dollars to an online vehicle seller, I'd want some pretty basic information:
Where is your dealership?
What's the street address?
What's your legal business name?
What's your dealer license number?
What's the VIN?
Can I inspect the vehicle?
Can someone I choose inspect it?
Can I call the dealership using a number I find independently?
Can you provide the complete purchase and financing terms?
Those aren't hostile questions.
Those are car-buying questions.
🚩 Blocking Questions Doesn't Answer Questions
Here's the important part.
Not being able to view the account's videos doesn't, by itself, prove that every listing was fraudulent.
But it also doesn't resolve a single concern I raised.
The $4,000 Scat Pack doesn't suddenly make more sense.
The $500 down payments don't become independently verified.
“WhatsApp only” doesn't establish a dealership.
“Savannah, GA” still isn't a street address.
And preventing a skeptical viewer from seeing the listings doesn't provide any of the documentation that could establish the seller's legitimacy.
It simply prevents that viewer from continuing to examine the content.
😂 Apparently Due Diligence Is Bad for Business
Maybe my mistake was asking too many questions.
Perhaps I should have said:
“$500 down? Fantastic! Where do I send it?”
Instead, I committed the unforgivable sin of online car shopping.
I asked:
“What's the address?”
Oops.
🏡 This Is Exactly Why I Say: Be a Good Neighbor
Someone else might see a beautiful car and an affordable down payment and think they've finally found a solution.
Maybe their credit isn't great.
Maybe their current vehicle just died.
Maybe they desperately need transportation to keep their job.
That person doesn't need ridicule.
They need someone willing to say:
“Before you send that money, let's verify this.”
Check the dealership.
Check the address.
Check the VIN.
Check the dealer license.
Check the title.
Check the vehicle's market value.
Call a phone number obtained independently.
And never let someone rush you into sending a deposit before you've verified who you're dealing with.
I'll Keep Asking Questions
I said I'd continue engaging with this account for as long as I was able.
Apparently, “as long as I was able” didn't last very long.
😂
But there's a useful lesson here.
When you're considering sending money to someone online, don't judge legitimacy by how confidently they tell you they're legitimate.
Judge it by how easily you can independently verify their claims.
And if asking ordinary questions suddenly ends the conversation?
Don't stop asking questions.
Just stop sending money.
Follow the continuing scam series at NielFlamm.com/blog.
Update: The $4,000 Scat Pack Seller Messaged Me—At 2:45 in the Morning
Well, this story just became interactive.
In my last post, I looked at the TikTok account landmark75, which describes itself as “Landmark Auto” and advertises vehicles at prices and down payments that immediately raised questions—including a purported 2021 Dodge Scat Pack with 45,000 miles for $4,000 and $500 down.
Now the account has contacted me directly.
And apparently, dealership hours start at 2:45 AM.
🌙 “Hey mate”
The first message arrived at 2:45 AM:
“Hey mate”
I eventually accepted the message request and didn't exactly hide my skepticism.
I asked:
“Are you going to try to convince me you are legitimate?”
The response came at 2:47 AM:
“have no intentions of scamming you or anybody here I'm just on here to sell cars to make a living that's all.”
They then asked where I was located and which vehicle caught my attention.
Fair enough.
Except I wasn't shopping.
I was investigating.
🚩 I Asked Direct Questions. I Wanted Direct Answers.
I told the account why I was skeptical.
Their response was essentially: What makes you think I'm here to scam you? I'm here to sell cars and make a living.
But that's not really the question I need answered.
I don't need someone to tell me they're legitimate.
I need information that allows me to independently verify they're legitimate.
There's a big difference.
So I asked one of the simplest questions imaginable:
Where is the business located?
The answer:
“My car lot is based in Savannah, GA, USA and also accept shipping delivery to any door step if we both make a deal at very affordable shipping cost…”
Okay.
Savannah, Georgia.
That's a city.
It's not an address.
So I followed up with an even simpler question:
“What's the address?”
That's where the screenshots currently end.
🔎 I Tried Independently Verifying It
I also searched publicly available sources for the business information displayed on the TikTok profile.
The profile previously showed a Gmail address and a 310-area-code WhatsApp number, while the person messaging me now says the car lot is based in Savannah, Georgia.
My searches did turn up several legitimate businesses around the country using variations of the name “Landmark Auto,” but I did not find a Savannah used-car dealership in the local-business results that clearly matched this TikTok account, its displayed contact information, and the Savannah claim. Instead, search results surfaced unrelated Landmark businesses and other established Savannah used-car dealers with publicly listed street addresses. Landmark Auto Sales
That doesn't by itself prove the TikTok account is fraudulent.
But it certainly doesn't answer my question either.
One public phone-directory result also associates the 310-845 number block containing the number displayed on the TikTok profile with Culver City, California—not Savannah. Phone numbers can be retained, ported, and used remotely, so that isn't proof of anything by itself. It's simply another detail I'd want explained before sending money. Stan at Work
🚩 This Is Why “What's the Address?” Matters
If you're operating a physical car lot, an exact street address shouldn't be hard to provide.
In fact, a legitimate dealership normally wants customers to know where it is.
I should be able to independently look up that address and determine:
Does the dealership exist?
Is the business registered there?
Is it licensed to sell vehicles?
Does the business name match?
Does the phone number match?
Do the vehicles shown online actually belong to that dealership?
Can I physically inspect the car?
Can I call a publicly listed number instead of communicating only through TikTok or WhatsApp?
Those are ordinary due-diligence questions.
I'm not asking for the Coca-Cola recipe.
I'm asking where the car lot is.
🚩 The Conversation Is More Interesting Than the Sales Pitch
Something else stands out.
The account initiated this conversation with me.
They've continued responding even after I openly told them I believe the operation follows a familiar scam playbook.
That's useful.
Because every additional answer gives me something else I can potentially check independently.
If I get an address, I'll check it.
If I get a dealership name, I'll check it.
If I get a dealer-license number, I'll check it.
If I get a VIN for that $4,000 Scat Pack, I'll check it.
And if I get asked to send a deposit before I'm allowed to independently verify those things?
Well...
That'll be interesting too.
🧠 “Trust Me” Isn't Verification
This is one of the bigger lessons from this entire series.
Someone saying:
“I have no intention of scamming you.”
doesn't establish legitimacy.
Neither does:
“I'm just here to sell cars to make a living.”
Those statements might be completely sincere.
But legitimate businesses don't need customers to rely exclusively on sincerity.
They can provide independently verifiable information.
Business name.
Street address.
Dealer license.
VIN.
Title information.
Written purchase agreement.
Financing disclosures.
Independently verifiable telephone number.
That's evidence.
⏰ I'll Keep the Conversation Going
I'll keep engaging with this account as long as the conversation remains useful and safe.
Not because I plan to buy a car.
And definitely not because I'm sending a down payment.
I'm interested in seeing where the conversation goes and documenting the process.
There's another reason.
Time spent answering my questions is time not spent moving someone else quickly toward a deposit.
I can't know whether my conversation actually prevents someone else from being targeted, so I won't pretend it does.
But if keeping the conversation going gives me more information to verify—and gives readers a better look at how these interactions develop—I'm willing to keep asking questions.
And my next one is already sitting there:
What's the address?
A city isn't an address.
Let's see what comes next.
Follow the continuing story at NielFlamm.com/blog.
Another TikTok Car Deal: A $4,000 Scat Pack With $500 Down? Here We Go Again
Apparently TikTok has decided that one questionable car account wasn't enough for me.
After looking at an account advertising everything from inexpensive transportation to Porsches with tiny down payments, another account appeared in my feed.
This one calls itself “landmark75.”
At the time of my screenshot, the profile showed more than 1,200 followers and 4,700 likes and described itself as:
“Landmark Auto 🚗
Your Trusted Auto Dealer
DM for inquiries & bookings”
Then things get interesting.
The profile lists a Gmail address and says
“WhatsApp only”
The profile doesn't show a physical dealership address.
And the inventory?
Once again, apparently we're living in the magical land of extremely inexpensive automobiles.
🚗 Today's Special: A 2021 Dodge Charger Scat Pack for $4,000
One post advertises what it describes as a:
2021 Dodge Charger Scat Pack
45,000 miles
And across the top of the photograph:
“Asking for $4000
Down payment 500”
Wait.
$4,000?
For a 2021 Charger Scat Pack with 45,000 miles?
I thought the $500 down payment was supposed to be the unbelievable part.
This time it's the alleged asking price.
And this wasn't some obscure post nobody had seen. My screenshot showed more than 1,000 likes, along with dozens of comments and hundreds of saves.
💰 Let's Check Reality
A 2021 Dodge Charger Scat Pack wasn't inexpensive when new, and clean used examples haven't suddenly become $4,000 cars.
Current Kelley Blue Book values vary considerably by mileage, equipment, condition, and location, but a 2021 Charger Scat Pack remains worth many times the $4,000 advertised here.
Even before knowing the VIN, vehicle history, or exact condition, that's enough of a pricing discrepancy to make me stop.
Could a $4,000 Charger exist?
Sure.
Maybe it's wrecked.
Maybe it has a branded or salvage title.
Maybe it has catastrophic mechanical problems.
Maybe it's missing an engine.
Maybe there's some other legitimate explanation.
But none of those explanations appear in the TikTok post.
Instead, I'm seeing a shiny Scat Pack photographed on what appears to be a dealer or auction lot and an advertised price of:
$4,000
That's when I want documentation, not emojis.
🚩 And It's Not Just the Scat Pack
Then I looked at the rest of the profile.
One pinned post appears to advertise a BMW for:
Asking: $6,000
Down payment: $400
Another Charger:
Asking: $4,000
Down payment: $500
Another vehicle:
Asking: $6,000
Down payment: $700
Another:
Asking: $7,000
Down payment: $500
An Infiniti appears with:
Asking: $7,000
Down payment: $600
Farther down, there's another vehicle advertised at $17,999 with $999 down and $500 monthly payments.
It's the same pattern I've been seeing repeatedly.
Attractive vehicles.
Extremely attractive prices.
Tiny down payments.
And social media as the storefront.
🚩 But Look at the Charger Photo More Closely
Here's something else that caught my attention.
The Charger has multiple stickers on the windshield.
That makes the vehicle look more credible because we're clearly looking at an actual car.
But that's something I've been stressing throughout this series:
A real car doesn't automatically make the offer real.
A vehicle can exist without the person posting its photograph owning it.
A vehicle can sit on an auction lot without a TikTok account having authority to sell it.
A photograph can come from another dealership, auction, listing or social-media account.
I'm not saying that's necessarily what happened here.
I'm saying a photograph isn't proof of ownership.
Before I send someone $500, I'd want the VIN and I'd want to independently establish exactly who owns the vehicle and where it's physically located.
📱 “WhatsApp Only”
Then we get to one of the biggest things that would make me cautious.
The profile doesn't direct potential buyers to a recognizable dealership website or give a street address.
Instead:
DM for inquiries & bookings
and
WhatsApp only
WhatsApp itself isn't suspicious. Millions of legitimate businesses use it.
But if I'm supposedly purchasing a vehicle from an auto dealer, I want more than a social-media profile and messaging account.
I want:
The legal business name.
Physical dealership address.
Dealer license information.
VIN.
Title status.
Vehicle history.
Actual cash selling price.
Financing terms.
APR.
Length of loan.
Total of payments.
And I want to verify those things independently, not solely through information sent to me by the person asking for my money.
💵 $500 Down Doesn't Tell Me What the Car Costs
This is another distinction consumers need to understand.
A legitimate dealer absolutely can sell a $30,000 vehicle with only $500 down.
That doesn't mean the vehicle costs $500.
The remaining balance gets financed.
That's why a post screaming “ONLY $500 DOWN!” tells me very little without the rest of the transaction.
But this Charger post goes further.
It appears to say the asking price itself is $4,000.
If that's genuinely the total purchase price for a running, roadworthy 2021 Charger Scat Pack with 45,000 miles and a transferable title, I would want to understand exactly why it is being offered so dramatically below normal market value.
🚩 Followers Still Aren't Verified
We've seen this before.
This account has more than a thousand followers.
One of its videos has tens of thousands of views.
That creates social proof.
People think:
“Other people are following them.”
“The video has 36,000 views.”
“There are hundreds of likes.”
“The cars are real.”
Therefore:
“The seller must be legitimate.”
Those aren't the same thing.
A follower isn't a dealer license.
A like isn't a title.
A view isn't a VIN.
And 36,000 views don't turn a $4,000 Scat Pack into a normal market transaction.
🧮 The Numbers Have to Make Sense
This is where I keep returning to KBB and wholesale-market values.
A legitimate business generally needs to acquire inventory for less than it sells that inventory for.
That's the business model.
If the normal wholesale value of a vehicle is dramatically higher than the advertised retail price, I want to know how that transaction works economically.
Maybe there's a legitimate explanation.
Great.
Show me.
That's what due diligence is for.
I don't have the VIN or enough vehicle-specific information from this TikTok post to produce an exact Manheim Market Report value, and I'm not going to invent one.
MMR depends on factors including mileage, condition, trim, region and recent auction transactions.
But that's actually part of the problem.
The information necessary to properly evaluate these deals isn't prominently provided.
The extraordinary price is.
🏡 Don't Be Passive. Be a Good Neighbor.
Here's why I continue writing about these.
Imagine someone who needs a car desperately.
Their credit is damaged.
Their current car just died.
They have to get to work.
Traditional financing hasn't gone well.
Then TikTok serves them:
2021 CHARGER SCAT PACK
$4,000
$500 DOWN
That doesn't just look like a deal.
It can look like a solution to a serious problem.
Before someone you know sends $500 through an app because they're afraid another buyer will grab the car first, help them investigate.
Ask for the VIN.
Verify the VIN independently.
Find the physical dealership.
Verify its dealer license.
Call the dealership using a phone number you find independently.
Check the title.
Compare KBB retail value.
Compare wholesale value.
Ask for complete financing terms in writing.
And if somebody says you need to send money right now before you can do those things?
That answer tells you something too.
The Cars Keep Changing. The Formula Doesn't.
Over the past several posts, I've seen Toyotas, Hondas, BMWs, Audis, Camaros, Porsches and now Dodge Scat Packs advertised on social media with extraordinarily low prices or down payments.
Different accounts.
Different cars.
Different backgrounds.
But some remarkably familiar marketing:
Low price.
Tiny down payment.
DM me.
Quick approval.
Shipping available.
Send money.
I'm not sending $500 to find out what happens next.
I'll keep doing the free part:
Asking questions.
Because whether this particular offer has some explanation I can't see from the TikTok post or not, $4,000 for a 2021 Charger Scat Pack with 45,000 miles deserves a lot more than a swipe and a DM.
Follow along at NielFlamm.com/blog as I continue looking at questionable vehicle offers, suspicious emails, recruiting scams, and whatever the algorithm decides to throw at me next.