Moon Residents Fall Victim to Craigslist Scam

said a number of township residents lost thousands of dollars while trying to apply for a job on Craigslist. 

Police are investigating the Craigslist fraud, in which residents said they sent personal information to a third party via the classified-advertisements website in the hope of landing a job as an administrative assistant. 

Police said residents sent personal and financial information through an online application process for the position. The perpetrator responded by sending counterfeit U.S. Postal Money Orders and checks to the victims through the mail.

The victims were advised to cash the checks and money orders and keep a portion of the money as a form of payment. They were then instructed to send back the remainder of the funds via Western Union or Money Gram. The funds were routed out of the country. 

The victims later found the checks were fraudulent, according to a police statement. They were held responsible for the amount of the check or money order, sometimes in the amount of thousands of dollars.

"These frauds have cost the victims thousands of dollars and the acquisition of their personal information through the application process has compromised the victims' identity and left them open to being a further victim of identity theft," police said in the statement. 

Police did not disclose the number of victims who reported the fraud or the specific amounts of the fraudulent checks.