Scammers are getting more and more elaborate when it comes to stealing money and information. It seems they will go to extreme lengths to achieve their goal of getting money from unsuspecting people. If you are not following the "if it's too good to be true it probably is" mantra you may be their next victim.

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"Your package is ready to be picked up. Click here to verify your information."

I received an email with that message early last week and for about 1 minute I stared at the screen in confusion. I was not expecting anything to be sent to me. I had also never received an email informing me of a package ready for pickup. I dragged my cursor over the email address to see where this email came from because I had a hunch it was fake. Guess what? It was almost exactly like one of the email addresses FedEx warned their customers about.

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By now we should all know scams can happen beyond email phishing and those awful phone calls claiming you'll go to jail if you don't pay (insert dollar amount here). Or, they ask for the money "owed" to be paid in the form of a VISA gift card or similar. These should all be obvious red flags. Unfortunately, when it comes to getting a good deal we may be more apt to fall for a scam like the one that happened to a Chicago man recently.

"For Rent: Beautiful two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood. $1,550/month"

A Chicago man came across a great deal for an apartment in Chicago. The price was eyecatching for sure, at $1,550 a month. Comparatively, the prices for a 2-bed/2-bath apartment in that neighborhood range from $2,700-$4,200 a month, according to Zillow.

The man told NBC 5, "There was this great den area, and it said everything was up to date." He said because of how fast apartments are filled in the area he needed to be quick about it.

He said that he completed his application, submitting a $50 fee, and used the CashApp to send in a $300 deposit. (NBC 5)

In short, he was supposed to meet someone from the realty company at the apartment to make everything official. Not only did the person not show up, the realty company they claimed to work for had never heard of the person offering the apartment. (Boom, scammed.)

A police report was filed and the realty company offered warning signs to look for when it comes to scams involving apartments and rentals.

[h/t NBC 5, Chicago]

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