Online Shopping Scams
The store, the listing, the deal — built to take your payment and deliver nothing, or a counterfeit. If the price is impossible and the seller is brand-new, that is the warning.
Fake Online Store
A storefront with real-looking products and unreal prices takes your payment and either ships nothing or sends a counterfeit. Many are built fast and abandoned just as fast. Pay by credit card so you can dispute it, and be wary of a brand-new site selling brand-name goods for a fraction.
Marketplace Scam
On Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and the like, the scam runs both ways — fake listings that take a deposit, buyers who "overpay" with bad checks, counterfeit goods, and a push to move off-platform. Keep it in person, in cash or platform-protected payment, and treat any nudge toward Zelle or gift cards as a stop sign.
Pet & Puppy Sale Scam
An adorable pet, advertised by a "breeder" or seller, that does not exist. You send a deposit, then the fees stack — "shipping," "insurance," a "special crate" — for an animal that never ships. The emotional pull is the leverage. See the pet, in person, before any money moves.
Rental & Apartment Listing Scam
A listing for a place the "landlord" does not own — often with photos lifted from a real listing — collects application fees, deposits, and first month's rent for a unit you will never get keys to. The push to pay before you tour is the tell. Never wire money for a rental you have not stood inside.
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