Recently a 2003 Toyota Tacoma truck was listed for sale on Craigslist for $2,000. A consumer (we’ll call him Mr. Ball) responded to the ad and began correspondence with “Amanda” at amandadovinot156@msn.com. “Amanda” informed him that she’d recently been divorced and needed to sell her truck as she didn’t need two vehicles. She further stated it was in good condition.

After Ball agreed to purchase the truck, “Amanda” told him she would have Amazon contact him since it was the third-party shipper. Ball received an e-mail from “Amazon Checkout amazon@customer-service-invoice.com” that included a congratulatory notice for winning the truck. It said, “Congratulations, the item is yours — 2003 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner 4d.” It continued, “Congratulations on winning this item. The next step is to pay Amazon Checkout. Check out and pay with MoneyGram to get your item as soon as possible.” It quoted the deposit payment due of $2,000 and estimated that the delivery date would be three business days after the payment is confirmed to Amazon. It listed the seller as “Amanda Dovinot.”

After Ball paid the deposit of $2,000, he received an e-mail from Amazon advising him the truck could not be shipped until he paid a truck insurance fee of $1,700.

• Dreama Jensen

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At that point, Ball became suspicious that he was dealing with an impostor and not Amazon. Unfortunately, he is out more than $2,000 and has absolutely no way of retrieving it.

In small print Craigslist has a disclaimer on its website that says, “Avoid scams and fraud by dealing locally. Beware any deal involving Western Union, Moneygram wire transfer, cashier check, money order, shipping escrow or any promise of transaction of protection certification guarantee.”

BBB TIP: Before making any online purchase from someone with whom you are not familiar, contact your BBB to determine whether or not the offer is legitimate. How many times have we said, “If an offer sounds too good to be true, chances are it is.”

Did CVS call?

Mrs. Smith (fictitious name) always has her medical prescriptions filled at the same local CVS Pharmacy. It is routine. As a reminder, the pharmacy calls her two weeks prior to the time for refilling her prescriptions and always names the medication to be filled.

Last week she had a phone call that her caller ID showed only as a “Private” call. It was a lady saying she was calling from the main office of CVS in New Jersey. She continued by telling Smith she was calling to remind her to get her prescriptions refilled but did not name them. She then asked Smith her birth date. This is when Smith ended the call by telling her that she does not answer any telephone questions unless she initiates the call. (She told me she learned that from reading this weekly column.) Because this call was not what she was used to, she phoned her local pharmacy and was told the main office is in Rhode Island and it would be unusual for the main office to make this type of call. Her pharmacy checked her record and found nothing about a call of this nature being posted.

BBB TIP: Treat any unfamiliar phone calls just as Smith did — refuse to cooperate.

Dreama Jensen is area director of the Better Business Bureau serving Northern Indiana. Contact the BBB at 574-675-9351 or visit www.bbb.org.