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Five Money Scams to Watch Out For on Craigslist Hickory

We work so hard for our money, and we, therefore, want to get our money's worth with each purchase. However, some people do not want to tire themselves and look for quick ways to get rich. Craigslist Hickory has been a gold mine for some scammers and here are five ways they can con you.

1. Job Scam

They say when a deal seems to be quite attractive, you better think twice because most probably you will end up regretting why you took it. Sometimes we think someone is watching us or following us and most usually our instincts never fail us. Such was the case of a woman who posted on social media that she felt a suspicious man was stalking her until she had someone escort her to her car. While it might have been a real threat on that woman's life, for Paula, she was not so lucky because her boyfriend forced her to prostitute herself and it took the help of family and friends for her to escape.

Hathcock, the founder and executive director of My Safe Haven, a Hickory-based non-profit organization committed to assisting human trafficking victims, says that human trafficking does not usually present itself as what we watch in movies. She explains that people who are desperate to get a well-paying job are lured in with the promise of a stable job through ads on Craigslist and Backpage but end up becoming victims of human trafficking. The weird thing is that once the victims become used to the new life, they place their ads hence becoming offenders themselves.

2. Rental Scam

You might have searched for the perfect place to call your home without luck only to come across it in an advert. However, if you do not do your due diligence, you will end up paying for something that belongs to someone else. On Craigslist, rental scams have become prevalent, and Hickory has not escaped the reach of these scam artists. The most common thing that should put your senses on alert mode is when an advertiser does not leave any phone number on which you can contact them. Usually, they prefer to continue communicating online.

One incident is that of a person who claims to have been scammed twice by an advertiser who allegedly was hard of hearing. So, despite encouraging buyers to contact him via text messages on phone calls, he never gave out his phone number. The property he was advertising also happened to have been posted by another woman, leaving the prospective buyer to conclude he was a scammer.

3. Service dog scam

Kristy was happy to buy her daughter, Sara, a service dog only to realize she had fallen victim to Craigslist scam ad. Sara who suffers from chronic pain, anxiety and vomiting and Griffin, the service dog her mother bought her would have been a great help. Unfortunately, when they went to the pet store after picking up Griffin, the dog began growling as if lunging at animals. At home, the dog attacked Gizmo, Kristy's cat and it was then that she decided to call K9 investigators, who were listed as the original owners on Griffin's paperwork. The group's representative found out that Griffin was retired and had a history of aggression, meaning that Kristy had been scammed. What was more unfortunate is that Kristy had been left to pay a $1,000 loan and she had to explain to her 7-year old why she could no longer have Griffin.

4. Check scams

The Deputy Chief of Police of The Hickory Police Department, Reed Baer disclosed that they have had many complaints lodged regarding bank checks fraud. Alton Robert, an 84-year-old Conover resident, was a victim of fraudulent checks to his bank, a fact that he realized after going to cash his check in Wells Fargo bank only to be told the checks were void. Baer said the incident was common on Craigslist and some scammers target the elderly maybe because they are trusting. Most of the scammers prefer wire transfers since they are harder to trace.

5. Pet puppy scam

The funny thing about scammers is their lack of creativity, so they copy one post and paste it on various Craigslist websites, hoping to catch the unsuspecting victims. In this Facebook page, there is a "Beware of Puppy Flipper Diana Beheler-Diana Carter-Diana Smyer" in which people call out a certain woman who posted on Craigslist Hickory too. She claims to be a breeder and cheats people out of their money by saying she is selling pure breeds. She goes further to make the puppies even more appealing by saying they are vaccinated and the victims realize too late that it is a lie.

Garrett Parker

Written by Garrett Parker

Garrett by trade is a personal finance freelance writer and journalist. With over 10 years experience he's covered businesses, CEOs, and investments. However he does like to take on other topics involving some of his personal interests like automobiles, future technologies, and anything else that could change the world.

Read more posts by Garrett Parker

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