Five Money Scams to Watch Out for on Craigslist Appleton

Craigslist is a popular online resource that many people use to advertise various items that they have for sale or trade. It's also commonly used to list homes for sale or rent as well as to provide job opportunities. There are many satisfied customers who make successful deals that they are pleased with, but as with any good thing, there are those who are not honest. Scammers are making their appearance on the site and have already stolen thousands of dollars from unsuspecting victims of bogus ads. You have to stay on your guard when dealing with people that you don't know. Here are five money scams to watch out for on Craigslist Appleton.

1. Craigslist Appleton rental scam

An Appleton Woman was surprised when people showed up to look at her home and disclosed that it had been listed on Craigslist as a rental home. She had not placed the ad, which asked for a price that was well below the going rate in the area. The rent in the phony advertisement also included utilities. There was a picture of the home and pertinent details including the address of the home. The fake landlord was asking for a $500 deposit on the place to be sent Western Union. These con artists are after the money along with the personal information of the victims who are instructed to complete a rental application prior. They offer to mail a set of keys after the money is received.

2. One Girl Painting Craigslist scam

There have been seven complaints filed against the One Girl Painting Company in Appleton, Wisconsin. The ad lists painting services for hire by a contractor in the area. Several people have reported that they responded to the ad and paid the money in advance for painting jobs to be completed on their homes. The person who is supposed to do the work would answer the phone and give excuses for not coming at the scheduled times, next the scammer stopped responding to all texts and calls. Money for paint and services was paid in advance of the work and the victims who trusted the woman were out the money they fronted.

3. Nanny Scam in Appleton

A scammer named Michael Kelly is luring victims into his scam by running a nanny scam. Unsuspecting women are instructed to purchase brand new toys and other items they will need when caring for their new charges, and they are sent a fake check, which the banks cash. They purchase the requested supplies and mails them to the scammer within a specified time frame. They soon learn that the check was bogus and they are required to pay back the money or they will face criminal charges. They never hear from the scammer again and they are simply out the money that they spent for the so-called nanny supplies.

4. Fishing lure scam

A Wisconsin man scammed investors by telling them that they will get rich by putting money into a fishing lure company. The con man told his victims that Screamline Lures was expected to bring in $100,000 per month in sales and he went so far as to post pictures of the manufacturing plant. As it turned out, Andrew Reyent had taken more than $350,000 of investment money from people on Craigslist and other sites who were duped by his investment pitch. When investors saw no results they questioned him about it. He would make up excuses to keep them at bay, but eventually, they caught on to him.

5. Fraudulent Auto Seller network

A man who advertised his 2007 Ford Mustang for sale on Craigslist received a response to his ad, asking if the car was still available. He said that it was and the man introduced himself, going by the name of Kevin Dodge and he said that he worked as a Rep for the Auto Seller network which was alleged to be a Walmart affiliate. He asked a series of questions about the car then told the seller that their company could sell the car in roughly two weeks and he wouldn't be required to do anything other than put down a deposit of $499.99. They would refinance the car and if the car didn't sell, he would get $400 of the money back and they would keep the rest as insurance. The man said that he could keep the car in his possession until it sold and the buyer wrote him a check. They said that when it cleared his bank he would release the car. He went for the deal and used his credit card to pay. The company took the $400, plus the $99,99. They had promised to send him an email that included a confirmation number but they never did. When he tried to have the charges stopped, he was unable to.