Beware of Email Scams

webmaster · 07-22-2008, 10:51 AM

I have received several messages from people who advertise on our free Classifieds and have received suspicious replies to their ads.

The replies start out innocent enough just asking for more information. Next they offer to buy your item. Then they offer to send you a check for more than the purchase price with a request to wire transfer the balance to another party. If you deposit the check and forward the balance you will lose all the money since the check soon bounces and the sender is no where to be found.

This is a classic scam that takes many forms but always involves sending you a larger check than required. Don't ever fall for it. Just ignore and delete any offers like this. Don't even reply since they'll then have your email address.

The Classified system hides your email address to help protect your privacy but that is all we can do. We have no control over replies to your ads and you should use the same caution you would use with any suspicious or spam email.

The Classifieds are very effective and most replies are genuine. However, there is a dark side to the Internet that we must all be careful of.

07-22-2008, 10:51 AM	#1
webmaster Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 2,446 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 455 Thanked 3,784 Times in 835 Posts	Beware of Email Scams I have received several messages from people who advertise on our free Classifieds and have received suspicious replies to their ads. The replies start out innocent enough just asking for more information. Next they offer to buy your item. Then they offer to send you a check for more than the purchase price with a request to wire transfer the balance to another party. If you deposit the check and forward the balance you will lose all the money since the check soon bounces and the sender is no where to be found. This is a classic scam that takes many forms but always involves sending you a larger check than required. Don't ever fall for it. Just ignore and delete any offers like this. Don't even reply since they'll then have your email address. The Classified system hides your email address to help protect your privacy but that is all we can do. We have no control over replies to your ads and you should use the same caution you would use with any suspicious or spam email. The Classifieds are very effective and most replies are genuine. However, there is a dark side to the Internet that we must all be careful of.