Five Money Scams to Watch Out for on Craigslist Space Coast

The people who live in the Space Coast region of Florida have been successfully using Craigslist to post items that they have for sale as well as to look for items that they are currently in need of. It’s long been a great resource for finding used appliances such as a washer, dryer or air conditioning unit, and even cars, trucks, RVs and farm equipment. There are also classified sections for furniture, yard sales, job opportunities, event tickets, homes for rent or for sale and much more. Recently, Craigslist in this area has seen a rise in the number of scam postings made by con artists who are out to deprive people of their hard earned cash. Here are five Craigslist Space Coast scams that you need to beware of.

1. Internet web marketing scam on Craigslist

There is a scammer that has made up a phony business that he calls space coast marketing.net. He offers to build a landing page for entrepreneurs who are interested in launching a digital campaign. He charges his victims up to $1,000 to crate the page but the work that he does is shoddy and the man who goes by Jason gives you a lot of excuses why he doesn’t finish the job. If you’re in teh Space Coast area and you see this ad, don’t trust him to do the work on your site because he’s take your money, do a little shoddy work and then leave you holding the bag. When one victim got frustrated he called and talked to a guy named Sean who said that Jason is no longer with the company. It’s a scam that they run so don’t fall victim to their ploys.

2. Two arrested in Craigslist scams in Brevard County

Scammers were using Craigslist to prey upon unsuspecting victims. The scam involves their attempt to lease to own a Cocoa Beach residence. They advertised the home and accepted a $5,000 down payment plus $750 per month in payments. One of the scammers said that she was the owner and she made up a warranty deed and lease for the property which were fraudulent. She requested payment via cashier’s check. The other co-conspirator posed as a property manager in the scheme. At the time that the deals were made, the real owner of the property had no clue what was going on and was actually living in the home.

3. Fake Paypal scam on Craigslist

If you are a seller on Craigslist then you need to know about this terrible new scam that’s been circulating recently. Sellers list a vehicle for sale on the site and then a scammer steals the information from your ad and creates a fake PayPal notice that says the car sold. They email it to you The fake email notifies you that a payment has been made and the money is waiting for you on pay pal but it also informs you that you have to wire a transport fee to the agent who will pick up the vehicle. If you wire the fee, you’re simply out the money because it’s almost impossible to track down the scammer.

4. Rental scam on Craislist

Meradith McGee had listed her home for sale on a different site and she was horrified to learn that scammers had stolen the photos of her tome and even used the text from her ad to make a new ad that posted her home for rent. This is a scam that’s becoming more common. Scammers ask interested parties to drive by the address, then fill out a rental application that discloses their personal information which can be used for identity theft. Some of them will actually follow through and wire money for a deposit and rent only to learn that the house never was available for rent.

5. Fake job and check scam

Beware of Craigslist ads that post a job opportunity and offer high pay for office work. One victim responded to such an ad and was told that he would be paid $25 per hour for running errands for a man while he traveled. They don’t ask for a resume but they do ask some odd questions. It deals with petty cash. They don’t interview you they just mail a check and tell you to deposit it and wire money through western union to the person for expenses.The cashier’s checks that they send are bogus and it can take days before your bank discovers that the checks are fraudulent. When they do, you’re responsible for paying back the entire amount plus bank fees.

You can also read: