Carthage woman bilked in online purchase scam

Online purchase scams are prevalent in this area.

That's according to Stephanie Garland of the Better Business Bureau.

"The Better Business Bureau just had a mom from Carthage report she lost $99 in an online purchase scam," Garland says.

"She thought she was buying an inflatable pool for her older kids, supposed to be more like a water park. Unfortunately, it was actually the size to fit only only one toddler which [she found] when it arrived."

The mother was unable to get her money back.

Garland says when you're ordering online, always remember to deal with legitimate sellers. Watch out for vendors on Facebook marketplace or Craigslist and beware of "red flags" - anything that seems too affordable or too good to be true or that puts the buyer at a disadvantage.

She also says to make purchases with credit cards, if possible. Often credit cards allow consumers to recover some or all of their costs if they are bilked. Other forms of payment often do not come with similar security,

Garland says your best bet is to check out the seller in advance by going to www.bbb.org  .