Editing Advance-fee scam (section)

=== Online sales and rentals ===
Many scams involve the purchase of goods and services via classified advertisements, especially on sites like [[Craigslist]], [[eBay]], or [[Gumtree]]. These typically involve the scammer contacting the seller of a particular good or service via telephone or email expressing interest in the item. They will typically then send a fake [[cheque]] written for an amount greater than the asking price, asking the seller to send the difference to an alternate address, usually by [[money order]] or [[Western Union]]. A seller eager to sell a particular product may not wait for the cheque to clear, and when the bad cheque bounces, the funds wired have already been lost.<ref name="Fraudguides">{{cite web|title=Craigslist Scams.|url=http://www.fraudguides.com/internet-craigslist-scams.asp|publisher=fraudguides.com|access-date=June 24, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705075209/http://www.fraudguides.com/internet-craigslist-scams.asp|archive-date=July 5, 2012}}</ref>

Some scammers advertise phony academic conferences in exotic or international locations, complete with fake websites, scheduled agendas and advertising experts in a particular field that will be presenting there. They offer to pay the airfare of the participants, but not the hotel accommodations. They will extract money from the victims when they attempt to reserve their accommodations in a non-existent hotel.<ref name="Grant_Bob">{{cite news|last=Grant|first=Bob|title=Another fake conference?|url=http://classic.the-scientist.com/blog/display/56185/|access-date=June 24, 2012|newspaper=[[The Scientist (magazine)|The Scientist]]|date=November 24, 2009}}</ref>

Sometimes, an inexpensive rental property is advertised by a fake landlord, who is typically out of state (or the country) and asking for the rent and/or deposit to be wired to them.<ref name="Sichelman_Lew">{{cite news|last=Sichelman|first=Lew|title=Rental scams can target either landlords or tenants|url=https://www.latimes.com/la-xpm-2012-mar-25-la-fi-lew-20120325-story.html|access-date=June 23, 2012|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=March 25, 2012}}</ref> Or the [[con artist]] finds a property, pretends to be the owner, lists it online, and communicates with the would-be renter to make a cash deposit.<ref name="Aho_Karen">{{cite news|last=Aho|first=Karen|title=Renters: Beware of new twists on an old scam|url=http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=20482759|access-date=June 24, 2012|newspaper=[[MSN]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512090312/http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=20482759|archive-date=May 12, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The scammer may also be the renter as well, in which case they pretend to be a foreign student and contact a landlord seeking accommodation. They usually state they are not yet in the country and wish to secure accommodations prior to arriving. Once the terms are negotiated, a forged cheque is forwarded for a greater amount than negotiated, and the fraudster asks the landlord to wire some of the money back.<ref name="McKee_Chris">{{cite news|last=McKee |first=Chris |title=Room rental internet scam takes Eugene college students for thousands |url=http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story/Room-rental-internet-scam-takes-Eugene-college/WwwCZHV1r0-7RtEY9kXpLw.cspx |access-date=June 24, 2012 |newspaper=[[KMTR]] |date=March 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120215930/http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story/Room-rental-internet-scam-takes-Eugene-college/WwwCZHV1r0-7RtEY9kXpLw.cspx |archive-date=November 20, 2012 }}</ref>