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“One case involved a property rental scam where the victim paid a deposit on a fake listing,” the department wrote. “Another case involved a resident trying to sell an item where the ‘buyer’ attempted to have his ‘shipping agent’ receive funds to ship the item.
“Unfortunately, most of these suspects are outside the US and will never be prosecuted. Therefore your best defense is to educate yourself.
“Be wary of any deals that seem too good to be true or if the buyer or seller is ‘out of the country’ and only able to communicate by email.
“Look for grammar and spelling errors that indicate the person emailing you is not a native English speaker.
“Any requests to send funds or deal with a wire transfer service such as Green Dot, Money Gram or Western Union should be considered very suspicious. Never send money this way to someone you do not personally know.”
If you think you’re dealing with a potential scam, they advise you call your local police department immediately.
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