We receive numerous complaints through the year where people will buy things on e-bay. They will pay for the item by mailing a money order to the seller through the mail. The seller will of course say the item has been shipped and it actually has not. The money order is cashed and you are out your money and have no merchandise. Once this done there will be no investigation, because the suspect is in another jurisdiction and we can't afford the funds to send an investigator there. It also would be considered a civil issue if you could figure out who was the actual suspect in this case.

The best way to avoid this is set up a PayPal account and have them hold the funds until you receive your purchase.

The second scam comes through people selling big ticket items on e-bay or in the personal ads of their local paper. A person calls from outside of the country and wants to purchase the big ticket item. They tell them they will mail a check for the amount of the item plus $5,000 more for the shipping and handling of the item. They tell them once they get the shipping and handling worked out they can mail or wire them back the difference in cash. People being honest for the most part are very happy they have sold their item and will send back the difference immediately. Of course the check is either stolen or counterfeit and the bank debts the victim's account for any loss they incur. Sometimes the item even gets shipped prior to the bank finding out the check was no good to begin with.

The best way to handle this is to have the bank check into the check and make sure it is good prior to sending anyone any funds or merchandise.

Be thoughtful with your money and information and stop yourself from becoming a victim of a scam!!!