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Struggling Family Loses Last $600 in Online Auto Scam, So Stranger Gives Them His Car

Struggling Family Loses Last $600 in Online Auto Scam, So Stranger Gives Them His Car
Denis LeBlanc immediately knew what to do when he heard about a family who lost their last $600 to online scammers—he gave them his car.

Despite being conned out of their savings by an online scam, a family's luck has turned around after their story was broadcast on the radio—and it's completely renewed their faith in humanity.

Nathan and Madison Donovan were in the market for a car to drive so she could begin working at a downtown call center.

Nathan has been unable to work after breaking his back in a car accident several years ago and since the bus system in Moncton, New Brunswick doesn't run at night, Madison needed the car to go back to work and get the small family off of social assistance.

When they found an online loan company, they applied for a car loan of $7,000. The company required a $600 deposit as collateral, and the couple forked over their savings in hopes of being one step closer to getting an automobile.

Days after they made the $600 payment, however, the company's website was taken down and the couple's calls went unanswered. Heartbroken, they contacted CBC News about telling their story as a means of preventing other families from making the same mistake.

"It would get us up out of the hole we're in," Nathan told the news outlet about their attempt to get a car. "So I think it was the hope that kind of blinded us to the reality that this was a scam."

Fortunately, their willingness to save others from the scam ended up paying off; a man named Denis LeBlanc had been in the middle of trying to sell his 2007 Volkswagen Jetta when he heard Nathan's story on the radio.

He and his wife had been trying to sell the car for at least $3,700, but they had only received several lowball offers from online buyers. By that time, they had already been contemplating simply giving the car away to charity—so when they heard about Nathan's situation, they knew just what to do

Having recently been burned, Nathan was hesitant to visit a stranger giving away a perfectly good car, but when he showed up, the LeBlancs were true to their word. With a gush of gratitude, Nathan simply got in the Jetta and drove away.

The good deed has entirely changed his family's fortunes for the better.

"Everything is going awesome. The car is great," Nathan told CBC News. "Madison is working full time and we are no longer on assistance."

"We have a renewed sense of hope not only in our financial future but in our fellow man," he added.

LeBlanc, meanwhile, was able to teach his kids a valuable lesson about helping others who are less fortunate.

"They were like, ‘So we didn't get any money for this, Dad?' And I go, ‘No, sometimes it's just the right thing to do,' and they were like, ‘Yeah, that's a good idea Dad," he recalled for CBC.

Be Sure And Share This Sweet Story Of Kindness With Your Friends – Photo by Nathan Donovan

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