Columbia Police searching for man who conned 2 men out of thousands

By Jazmine Greene | August 9, 2018 at 12:27 AM EDT - Updated August 14 at 7:01 PM

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS)

Columbia Police are searching for a man wanted for swindling two men out of thousands of dollars last month.

Bradley Donald Smith, 43, is facing a charge of obtaining goods/property under false pretenses.

Smith is accused of convincing two men to transfer money to his account to purchase cars for them. After receiving the money, Smith failed to deliver the cars but kept the cash.

One victim was attempting to purchase a 2018 Honda Accord for $7,800 and the second victim a 2017 Volkswagen GTI for $5,320.

Authorities offer the following tips to help you avoid scams similar to this one.

Don’t pay upfront for a promise.
Consider payment with fraud protection.
Don’t deposit a check to a stranger’s bank account.
Be skeptical of ‘too good to be true’ offers and report suspected scammers to police immediately.

Anyone with information about this crime are encouraged to contact Crimestoppers by calling 1-888-CRIME SC (888-274-6372) or visiting www.midlandscrimestoppers.com or www.p3tips.com and click on the “submit a tip” tab. Your identity will be kept anonymous, and if your tip leads to an arrest, you could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.