Five Money Scams to Watch Out for on Craigslist Augusta

Craigslist Augusta is an excellent venue for selling items that are no longer wanted. Numerous ads for furniture, appliances, automobiles and RVs and even event tickets are posted on the site. Some realtors and private owners list rentals and homes for sale there as well. While the majority of the advertisements are legitimate, scammers have discovered that Craigslist is a venue where they can find innocent victims to trick them out of their money. These con artists will steal legitimate advertisements for homes and use the photos and details, changing the contact information and financial terms to create phony ads that look real. This is just one of the types that are beginning to become more common, but there are others as well. Here are 5 money scams to watch out for on Craigslist Augusta.

1. Craigslist scam robbery

Derek Earl Shifflett posted an ad on the Craigslist website in Augusta County advertising a car for sale. When a man who was interested in making the purchase contacted him, he made arrangements to meet with him in person. When the man showed up with an envelope containing $12,000 to buy the car that didn’t really exist, Shifflett pushed the man and then grabbed the envelope of money and ran off. Police caught him just hours later and he was arrested and charged in the Craigslist robbery scam.

2. A woman in Augusta County loses thousands in Craigslist tech support scam

This is a common scam that is being conducted by telephone, online auction sites such as eBay, Craigslist and social media sites. The scammers make contact with their victims and tell them that they are employees of Microsoft. They offer them a rebate of $100 for software that had been ordered on their computers and then they request credit card information so they can process the rebate. They also get remote control of your computer. It all sounds legitimate, but these savvy techs are fraudsters. They issue an overpayment to your credit card and then tell you of the mistake and they ask you to buy the excess in iTunes cards to pay them back. They even know how to show you the fake credit on your card. You’re to buy the iTunes and then scan the card’s information onto your computer where they will take the information to sue the cards. If you see an ad on Craigslist that offers Microsoft rebates, don’t respond to it because it’s likely to be this exact scam which has deprived hundreds of their hard earned cash already.

3. Fraudulent Craigslist Ad reported in Augusta County

The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office is warning everyone about a new Craigslist scam that is circulating in the area. Two recent incidents of items being posted for sale on Craigslist and resulting in fraud were reported. A man reported that he responded to an ad to purchase an undisclosed item on the site. The seller instructed him to wire the amount of $940 to make the purchase. The item was to be shipped but it never came. As it turned out, the ad was phony and the scammer had taken the money and ran, leaving the victim out the funds with no recourse but to accept it as a lesson learned in being too trusting.

4. Cars and boats for sale Craigslist scams

The Better Business Bureau is warning residents of Augusta, Georgia about the latest Craigslist scam. There are scammers posting ads for boats and cars for sale on the site. They communicate via email or phone after a person responds to the ad. The buyer is told that they must go through a third party website to wire the money for the items, and they’re told that as soon as the funds are received, the item will be shipped to their home address. What happens is that the buyers wait and the vehicle never arrives. When they realize that something is wrong, the scammer is long gone and it’s almost impossible to trace the funds which have been wired. Be very careful because these websites look legitimate, but they’re not.

5. Local Craigslist scam is international

A local Augusta Craigslist scam is being investigated by Federal and local law enforcement. Moriya Ariff is an elderly woman who places advertisements on Craigslist offering a home for rent in Augusta. The woman is using a stolen passport to pull off the scam on Birnam Place that doesn’t belong to her. She is a relative of the owners and obtained a key when she lived there. In the elaborate scheme, she rented the property to a woman who paid to lease the home and was given a receipt and two keys. The scammer acted like she was very religious and the documents she produced seemed legitimate. Now the scammer is on the run and authorities are looking for her. She not only has the woman’s rent money but she also has her personal financial information.

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