Five Money Scams to Watch out for on Craigslist Sioux City

Craigslist is a popular online classified ads site that has been used by buyers and sellers in Sioux City for decades. It's a great resource when you have something that you want to sell or buy used. Buyers and sellers have been using it to list items for sale or purchase trucks, electronics, cars, furniture, homes for rent or sale and a variety of other things. Over the past few years there has been a big increase in scam activity. Fake ads designed to scam people have been appearing and the numbers of con artists who use the site has gone up dramatically. Here are five money scams that you need to watch out for on Craigslist Sioux City.

1. SCPD warns of rental scams on Craigslist

Local law enforcement is warning residents about a series of rental scams that have been advertised on Craigslist. A con artist has stolen photos and information about homes for sale from other websites and is using it to place phony rental ads. The scammer won't talk on the phone and insists on using email. He comes up with a reason why he can't meet you renters in person and insists on doing everything online. Renters are told to drive by the address and if they like the home they can send money via online money transfer and he tells them he will mail the keys. Watch out for this scam because the keys will never come and after you send the money he disappears and you're left with nothing.

2. Vehicle shippers scam

There is a vehicle shipping scam in operation and people who want to buy a car or a boat online need to be aware of it. The Better Business Bureau has had multiple complaints from victims who have attempted to buy a boat or car online. The person listing the item always has a so story and they offer an item for sale and tell buyers to go through a shipping company to pay for the item. The problem is that the shipping company is a scam operation. They're not legitimate and they take your money and disappear.

3. Vehicle scam on local Craigslist

Six victims have attempted to purchase vehicles from Craigslist recently and have been bilked out of their money. The scammers have them pay in prepaid cards in the amounts of $500 each. After receiving the gift cards as payment, they notify the buyers that shipping was stopped because the item is not insured, then the seller disappears and they never hear from them again.

4. Craigslist puppy scam

Scammers posted ads for Siberian Husky puppies on Craigslist. When a girl tried to buy them for $200 each, the scammer had her wire the money for them with the promise of delivering them. After sending the money, they emailed her again and said that she needed to send more money. This made her think it might be a scam so she cancelled the deal, but they refused to return her money. She notified local law authorities who say she will probably never see the money again.

5. Ebay motors Craigslist scam

If you see an ad on Craigslist that offers a larger ticket item for sale such as a car, truck or piece of farm equipment and the sellers insist on going through eBay to complete the sale, walk away from the deal and don't send them any money. This is a scam that has been used to rip people in Sioux City off. One buyer followed up and contacted eBay to verify the information that was sent from a seller in an email for payment and shipping of a Ford tracker/loader. It turned out that the eBay link sent was totally fraudulent.Luckily, the buyer found out before wiring the money to the scammer but they're posting this information to warn everyone to be on the lookout for this vehicle/shipping scam. The link that the scammers send you looks totally legitimate but when you call eBay to verify it, they let you know that it's not.