Police: Hilton Head Plantation man thought he sent $21K to local company. It was a scam

A Hilton Head Plantation man was scammed out of more than $20,600 he thought he was paying to a Lowcountry company, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

The man contacted the construction company by email Sept. 15 to hire contractors to work on his boat, the report said. Someone posing as an employee told the man to wire $20,690 to a Bank of America account. He did so Sept. 17, the report said.

The two set up a meeting to go over work plans for the boat, but when the boat owner went to the location, no one showed up, the report said.

On Monday, the man contacted the company about the employee not showing up. Company representatives told him he did not have a contract with their company and they didn’t have an employee with the name he was referencing, the report said.

The company also told him “their business emails have been compromised before in the past,” the report said.

If the suspect is identified, the man plans to file charges, the report said.