First Coast Couple Falls Victim To MySpace Scam

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- For a moment Allen Fisher and and his fiance Tisha Foster were excited.

"We could not believe it," says Fisher.

Fisher is now unemployed and struggling with an illness. Foster works as a security officer.

"We are struggling and looking for ways to pay our bills," says Fisher.

The couple placed an ad for a roommate in the classified pages of the social network myspace.

They received a response from a person named Jennifer Jones.

Jones says she's an RN and was relocating to the United States from the UK.

She said she would love to be their roommate and asked them to remove the ad.

"We had a number of correspondence and told her if she sends a $200 deposit we will take down the ad," says Fisher.

She did. She mailed Fisher and Foster four money orders, each valued at $925.

They deposited the money orders in their bank account after deducting the $200.

"She told us to send the difference to her shipping agent in North Carolina," says Fisher.

But a few hours after making their deposit, Allen fisher says he was contacted by his bank. They had frozen his account and told him the money orders were bogus.

"I was heartbroken," says Fisher.

He added, "We were both upset."

Now he has to repay the bank. Fisher says it has made his financial problems worse than when they placed the ad.

"I guess you can say we're lucky that all we took was $200," says Fisher.

And since the income they were counting on is no longer available, Fisher says they will most likely be evicted from the condo they were renting.

"I hope no one else falls for this scam," says Fisher.

A consumer tip:

Whenever you're placing an ad in the classified section of Yahoo, MySpace, Craigslist or Ebay and it involves money, buyer beware.

If the payment is more than the asking price, it could be a scam.

If you're being asked to wire money through Western Union or Money gram, it could be a scam.

When money is involved in the transaction, try using a third party account, like Paypal or a credit card, to process the transaction.

These steps will minimize your chances of falling victim to a counterfeit check or money order scam.

Check out this website: www.fakechecks.org

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