For those of you out there that are job searching, Craigslist.org can be a great tool! It can also be a great source for SPAM and fake posts. If get an email from an unknown sender and it looks fishy, try Google searching some lines of the message. If you're like me and replied to a ton of job postings, the source of these spam messages are damn near impossible to track down. That is unless the subject line was in the suspected spam email and you printed a pdf copy of the ad - Aha! Although the lure of a potential job may be tempting, be aware that some people (try to) make a living from scamming and spamming you!

Here's a message I got today from some random internet guy telling me about a job opportunity:

"I will like to know if you can get this work done for me, I have 7
Pentium M HP laptops,Below is a list of work needed to be done on each Pc.
1.Format Hard Drive
2.Install Win Xp with Service Pack 3
3.Install Microsoft Office Package
4.AVG Virus Software
5.Adobe Acrobat Reader
Get back to me with your total cost for the service
I await your urgent response"
- Allen Jones

If you Google search that last bit: "Get back to me with your total cost for the service I await your urgent response" you'll find several websites with people asking if they just got a SPAM message. When in doubt, Google it!

To quote famous circus man P.T. Barnum "There's a sucker born every minute" Don't be a sucker. Research fishy emails to avoid phishing scams! Here's more useful info on Craiglist's About Spam page: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams

On a funny side-note, Googling the name "Allen Jones" I discovered a sculptor that makes tables that look like look like pretty ladies. His work inspired the tables for the milk bar scenes in A Clockwork Orange.