Red Lucas was used-car shopping on the internet when he noticed something fishy.

"I found a 2009 (Honda) Accord which new is about $25,000 or $27,000 that was going for $4,000," he said.

Further searching turned up many such "bargains," like a four-year-old Corvette for only $9,000.

Knowing that the offers were likely scams, Red tried to contact the sellers just to see what would happen. He says every one had an elaborate story.

"They couldn't speak to me on the phone because they were a deaf mute," he said one person told him.

"Unfortunately, her son had been killed in Iraq -- the car was in Montréal -- but she was living in London."

Another so-called seller claimed to be a divorced "single mother with two children" who said she was selling it so cheaply because she didn't need it.

It's an excuse that makes no sense -- single parents with two children need every dollar they can get.

"They want to get the people who are somewhat naive or have the blinders on and are totally greedy they are going to get something for nothing," Red said.

They told Red to send money via Western Union and that he was protected by eBay, which he knew was also a lie.

CTV's Chris Olsen showed some of the "deals" Red found online to David Kent of Dueck GM.

"They are picking popular models that people are often looking at," Kent said.

A brand new Corvette Z06 is $112,000 but we found one four-year-old model for $59,000 online, and another for $55,000. The cheapest was only $9,000."

"There is $50,000, $47,000 difference -- it's just not real," Kent said.

Kent's advice is not to send any deposits.

"You're going to lose your money," he warns.

If you search popular internet car selling sites it's pretty easy to determine the real price range.

"See what three or four examples are selling for, what the mileage is on those cars, what the damage has been if any on the cars and then compare those prices to what they are looking at on lots that's a good starting point," Kent said.

And if you see a car priced way below what others are asking, that should send the alarm bells ringing.

As for Red, he's had his fun playing with the scammers and now he's back to looking for real.

"There will be somebody locally that I can see the car and talk to the person and can assess the situation," he said.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen