COEUR d'ALENE - Joe Merwin, of Simpsonville, S.C., got scammed for $1,100. The suspect picked up the cash at a bank in Coeur d'Alene, according to a police report released Monday.

Merwin, 64, thought he had a buyer for his 1949 four-door Chevrolet Deluxe. He'd had it for sale on Craigslist and the buyer was anxious to get it.

Merwin said Monday, "I just wanted to get rid of it. I've had it sitting here for ages."

He bought it about five years ago, planning to restore it, but never got around to it.

The buyer was willing to pay $4,800, and Merwin was eager to get his hands on the cash.

"That is the key," he said. "The eagerness is the thing that's going to get you."

The man suggested using PayPal, an online payment and money transfer business, to complete the sale.

When the money didn't appear in a PayPal account as promised, Merwin contacted the man, who replied that Merwin first needed to send $1,100. That money would cover shipping costs.

The red flags started popping up, but Merwin, despite his better judgment, proceeded.

Merwin said, "Why would I pay for the shipping?"

But he did.

Another mistake, he said, "I didn't contact PayPal right away to make sure this is legitimate."

Merwin sent the $1,100 on Sept. 24.

He just happened to have the cash.

"Normally, I wouldn't even have the money saved," he said.

Of course, he never received the $4,800.

Merwin soon realized the PayPal account wasn't real.

"I was shocked at myself," he said.

There were other red flags signaling a scam, he said.

"He would never talk to me on the phone," Merwin said.

The suspect, whose name wasn't released by police, preferred to deal by text message.

Along the way, repeatedly in messages, the suspect laid it on thick with phrases like "God bless," Merwin said. He also played on Merwin's eagerness to sell, adding "ASAP" in messages, suggesting he too couldn't wait to close the deal.

Once he was certain he'd been had, Merwin went to the Simpsonville police department.

Simpsonville police spoke with Western Union and learned the money was picked up by a person at the US Bank, at 302 E. Sherman Ave., in Coeur d'Alene, on Sept. 24.

The suspect used a California driver's license when he picked up the cash.

US Bank told police that surveillance footage was captured of the suspect.

Lesson learned?

"If it sounds too good to be true, it is," he said.