COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) -- Are you in the market for an automobile? You may head straight to Craigslist in search of the deals, but be careful, many times the ad you're responding to may actually be a scam - no matter how legitimate it looks.

One Midlands couple found this out the hard way. They were ultimately "spoofed", the latest form of online scams - so says the State Department of Consumer Affairs.

Lisa Herbst and her husband were in the market for a truck. They thought they hit the jackpot with a 2000 Toyota Tacoma. Asking price? $2420, and when it appeared, the seller was going through eBay, and they thought this transaction would be a smooth one, but boy were they wrong.

"What we had to do was get a wire transfer from Western Union and send it to a person. It was supposed to sit in an account until we notified eBay that we received the truck and that my husband wanted the truck because we had five days to inspect the truck before the money was to be transferred. If we didn't want the truck, the seller was going to take it back on their own money."

Once Lisa and her husband wired the money, the seller could no longer be reached. Lisa and her husband had been spoofed.

Carrie Lybarker with the Department of Consumer Affairs says, "The more common theme or spin on scams lately is spoofing, whether it's spoofing a website or forms or a telephone number. The scam artist tries to make themselves look like one person or form an agency or going to use a particular business when they're not."

Lybarker says falling victim can be an easy thing to do. These scam artists can be convincing.

"They used eBay's name. They spoofed a form from eBay to try and make her feel like it was a legitimate transaction, that all she had to do was pay this money. It was going to be held if she wanted to keep the truck so be it. If not, she would be getting a refund, but spoofing is the new thing to try to get the consumer to become a victim of a scam."

Lybarker says you should always read privacy statements and policies before using a service like eBay and contact the business yourself if you have further questions. She also says to be careful when using a wire transfer, that it's just like using cash.

Fortunately, Lisa's story has a happy ending. She and her husband were able to find a legitimate truck to purchase, and she was able to stop the wire transfer and get her money back for the truck that was a Scam. In the end she was out the $135 wire fee but says she considers it a small price to pay to learn a priceless lesson.

Lisa Berbst says, "You've got to watch everything. I thought I was smart and could know this stuff, and you couldn't fool me on it. I know there were a bunch of red flags as we were doing it, but I just fell through the system and said this is what we need to do, so I've learned do research, research, research."

If you think you've been scammed or "spoofed", you should contact the State Department of Consumer Affairs. Their number is (800) 922-1594, and they'll be able to tell you if the people or business you're dealing with is legitimate.