Online Deal Hunters Beware

In this recession, everyone is looking to save money. To find good deals, many are turning to the Internet. But so are scam artists, who are trolling for victims, reports The Early Show's consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen.

When looking for a deal, Craigslist is one of the most popular Web sites.

You need something, you can find it there.

But who's making sure the postings on that site are legit? The answer may surprise you.

It's a Web site where you and others can connect and make deals on just about anything -- babysitting, free furniture, roommates, jobs and just about every other service you can imagine.

Craigslist is the online classifieds powerhouse. It serves more than 500 cities, 50 countries and it gets 12 billion page views a month.

"Users submit about 30 million new classified ads each month, which I think is probably the most of any classified service in the U.S.," said Jim Buckmaster, Craigslist CEO.

But popularity comes with a price.

Free ads on Craigslist have led to murder, swindles and plenty of scams.

As consumers flood the Web site looking for good deals, crooks and cons are on the site, too, searching for victims.

"Initially, I was on Craigslist because I was trying to find an apartment," said Callen Willis, a Craigslist scam victim.

Willis was moving from Texas to New York City when she found a good deal, or so she thought, on Craigslist.

Another young woman was looking for a roommate -- Callen sent her $3,000 for a security deposit and several months rent.

"After I sent the money, she sent me a supposed receipt and after she sent me that, I never heard from her again," Willis said.

Willis' New York City roommate vanished, and so did her $3,000.

"I just feel so stupid, like I've been completely duped. It's just really bad," Willis said.

Willis is not alone. Thousands of people have been scammed using Craigslist. The Web site, which reaches millions of users, has less than two dozen employees checking for scams, which works out to one staffer for every 30 million postings.

The company says it relies on community policing, meaning it wants its users to catch scams and report them.

"If a company has 10,000 people charged with removing bad listings, that's not nearly as effective as having 30 million people, who are empowered to remove bad listings," Buckmaster said.

But is that even enough?

Other online communities such as eBay have far larger security forces; e-Bay has 2,000 people surfing their pages daily for security issues in addition to the complaints they receive from users.

"There is absolutely no way any one company is going to be able to keep track of every single thing that is being posted on their site," said John Otero, cyber crime expert.

Otero says bottom line, consumers need to be smart about the deals they try to make online.

"But it comes down to the buyer needs to beware and the buyer needs to be able to say 'Wait, this deal sounds too good to be true.' It probably is too good to be true. Don't let the greed get the best of us," Otero said.

But some say the Web site needs to take more responsibility and better protect its users.

Like Willis, the grad student, who lost thousands to a scammer on Craigslist.

"I understand the fact that it's a community-based Web site and I do think that that should be honored to a certain degree, but at the same time there should obviously be that screening process that makes sure that people aren't being hurt by the things that are being posted," Willis said.

To avoid scams on Craiglist, here are some things to consider.