CIProud.com works hard to maintain a friendly environment in which buyers and sellers are honest and trustworthy; however, some scammers succeed in posting or responding to listings.

If you find an ad suspicious please report it to us at spoof@wmbd.com.  Remember to include the e-mail address from which you received the questionable response and/or the full detail of the ad.

If you are uncomfortable with a response to your ad please report it to us and do not proceed with a sale.   It is your right to refuse.

The most common scams we see are "Free" Yorkie Puppies, "Free" Bulldog Puppies, and for some reason, "Free" Chipukin Monkeys.  Most of these scammers reside out of the country and will contact you with broken English and other RED FLAGS.  Please be careful.

Here are some tips on what to watch out for

CentralIllinoisProud.com will not be responsible in any way for any ad or other posting, or the content within, or for anything that might happen or result from any ad or other posting.

CentralIllinoisProud.com cooperates with law enforcement.

Common Scams
There are many people out there who want to steal your money. Unfortunately, some of them may use our Classifieds. While most users are good, and honest, a few are not. Some scenarios that should raise a red flag:
     - Make unrealistic promises or offers to buy
     - Have complicated instructions for the seller regarding shipping, check cashing, transfer of money, etc.

Below is an example email you may receive from a scam artist. The concept of this scam is simple, you are being sent a STOLEN check. You cash it, send the balance to the PO Box of the buyer. When this is found out by the company whose check the scam artist stole, YOU are responsible for paying back the balance.

"We are interested in buying your above mentioned (10" F/7.5 truss Dobsonian with Swayze mirror) at advertised rate of $1,995. Goods to be picked up from your location for onward shipping to London. Cost and modaliti s of shipping to be born by us. Payment for the purchase is by check through a debtor in US. The debtor owes us higher than our purchase. He will therefore be sending you a check for $7,000 to cover the cost of our order, as well as the Shipping costs. On receipt of the check, you will cash and deduct the cost of our order .The balance you will send as we would instruct you to the Agency that will ship the Goods to us. If this arrangement suites you fine, please send us your address where to send the check, as well as the name to be on it. Also send us your phone number for easy communication."

To view the most recent scams and warnings issued by the FBI, go here

To file a complaint, visit the Internet Crime Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov/