[njsteve]

Scam or not, this is definitely a case of Federal Wire Fraud. If you use any instrumentality of interstate commerce (in plain language, a telephone) in order to further your scam (or practical joke?), you just achieved all the minimum requirements of Wire Fraud. And since this is the case of a car, real or not, who's true worth could be $250 to $500,000, whomever is out any money on this episode should be contacting their local FBI office to report the crime, since this value of the vehicle involved is well above their minimum prosecutorial guidelines.