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Posted at: 07/20/2009 9:49 PM Watch Out for Cyber Scams(ABC 6 NEWS)--- In this tough economy people are looking for any way they can to make some easy money. That has a lot of people turning to the internet and putting up postings on sites like Craigslist, but as easy as it is for you to sell something, it's just as easy for cyber-criminals to scam you. Now authorities are issuing a very urgent warning: watch out! It's a virtual marketplace at your fingertips. Once you log onto Craigslist, you've got access to furniture, cars, housing, you name it, and you’ll likely be able to find it. "We're telling people to be extremely careful when they are on Craigslist," says Crime Prevention Specialist Darrel Hildebrandt. Hildebrant says today's weak economy has cyber criminals working overtime to scam you. "I will probably take two, three, and as high as five, six in one week," says Hildebrandt. That's right, five to six email replies a week that scammers have sent to honest people with postings on Craiglist. Emails like this one I posted, listing a couch and chair for sale. It wasn't long before the replies started rolling to my post, including one from someone calling himself Mark Ford. After several emails back and forth, I sensed something wasn't quite right, so I took it to Hildebrandt for a look. "This one looks pretty good in itself, g-mail looks good," says Hildebrandt Then it quickly turns suspect. Ford doesn't ask for pictures, has strange grammar, and mentions a mover will come pick it up. "How many of us can afford to have an outside mover come in and do this," he says. Then the biggest tip off, Ford says a secretary has made a mistake sending a check worth much more than the asking price. He asks me to cash it and send the rest back. "I'd again say that's a red flag," he says. Because the scammer isn't really after the item you have posted for sale, Hildebrandt says they'll pretty much go after any posting, from something as small as this bag, to a car, even a town home. "With all the advertising we do, we do find Internet is our strongest medium," says Sheryl Good, Property Manager of Grandville at Cascade Lake. Sheryl Good listed an apartment for rent, here at Grandville at Cascade Lake. "They'll say they're coming for research, that they'll be here for a year, they are bringing their family and that someone will be paying their rent as part of their income," says Good. At first, it sounded legitimate, but after trying to get the information she needed about the future tenant, she realized it was a scam. "There's no driver's license, no passport, no I'm working in this department," says Good. Then the check arrived. "The amount was well over what we asked for," says Good. "Whenever anybody gives you a larger check than what you're asking for, that should be a red flag," says Hildebrandt. While the check looked real... "You can hold them up they've got the watermark, got everything on the back, paper looks and feels legitimate," he says. Good's property has a policy never to cash and send money back. "We've never lost money, never lost money," she says. While she was lucky, Hildebrandt says this type of scam isn't going away. "They make it their fulltime job, they don't have a regular job to go to like you and me," he says. But, that doesn't mean you have to stop using sites like these, just be extra careful. Watch grammar, take cash, try to sell local, meet the person face to face. "If you feel something is not right, it's not right," Hildebrandt says. Even though she's faced several cyber scams, Good says she'll keep using the Internet, because it works. As for me, my couch and chair are still for sale.
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