by Tracy Morrison

Created on: June 12, 2009   Last Updated: June 13, 2009

You would have thought in your early 40s that you have "seen and heard it all". Our parents thought they had. But our parents didn't have the Internet. Since the inception of forums such as Ebay, YouTube and Craigslist, it's fascinating to witness the shear creativity of human beings to sit and think up schemes as intricate as check fraud and as simple as puppies for sale. Online sales and scams brought a whole new meaning to "buyer beware".

It's sad yet intriguing to see the vast amount of attempts out there geared to defraud you out of your hard earned money. Here we will explore a few of the most common yet not always the most recognizable scams on craigslist today.

PUPPIES FOR SALE

"Bull dog Puppies AKC Registered Only $475.00 Will Ship for Free" This ad is sadly all over craigslist in different varying forms in every state on website. We've always been told, if it seems too good to be true IT IS! Highly sought after breeds at a dirt cheap price are a great fishing lure for scammers to use to reel you in! If you are curious, email the advertiser, ask them where the puppies are located. Usually you will get a response from some person who types in broken English; they are usually from a foreign country using a US free email address on MSN or Yahoo. If they want the money sent via Western Union, WRONG. They can pick the money up anywhere on the earth and your money is then long gone. These 2 clues are dead giveaways that a scam is in progress.

IN NEED OF A RENTAL UNIT

People will type out a long article asking for someone's assistance in locating rental property in the city you live in. Then you answer the ad and they offer to send you a cashier's check for the deposit and rent and you keep some money and then Western Union the remaining money back to the sender. By the time you have already wired the money you are unaware that the cashier's check is fraudulent and you've been had. Plus you are overdrawn at the bank when the bad check is returned.

AT-HOME WORK OPPORTUNITY

This is very much like the rental unit ad but a little trickier because it takes more than one sucker to move the papers around. But like the scam above, they send you cashier's check that you are supposed to cash and wire a third back to them. What most people don't know is that another person was recruited to send out checks for a "business payroll" and they are drawn on completely fictitious bank accounts.

SINGLES ADS

Even after all the TV News stories about stalkers and pedophiles on Craigslist, people still post personal ads on there amazingly. One common scam is an ad seemed to be posted by a lonely attractive Russian or Slovakian lady, new to the area that wants the companionship of a nice man to show her around town. You answer the ad and she responds and sends you a link to a pornographic website that they want you to pay to view. Now they have your email address and you will begin to receive many emails wanting you to visit a vast array of different adult websites.

MERCHANDISE AT AN INCREDIBLE PRICE

Unfortunately Craigslist has become a haven for thieves to fence their stolen goods. They don't have to go to the pawn shop anymore, then can simply take a photo and put on ad on craigslist for free and VOILA! If anyone is advertising merchandise at a ridiculously price and wants to "meet you at a neutral place" then be careful! There's a good chance the merchandise is stolen and the advertiser could have other plans for violence against you. It's sad that we all have to be so cautious, but our life could depend on it. An honest person would come to your office or somewhere safe, introduce themselves and not act suspicious.

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