Antonio Vargas never thought about looking anywhere else for a home but Northeast El Paso.

"I have family here, like my my parents, and my wife’s," Vargas said. "Everybody is just around the corner."

When he couldn't find a house using a newspaper and word-of-mouth, he turned to the internet.

"I had a couple of people tell me about Craigslist," Vargas said.

Vargas said the homes he discovered online seemed perfect, with lush grass yards and gated communities. So he called the company and signed a contract, putting over $300 up front through a Moneygram card. Vargas said he was

However, when Vargas and his family were shown the homes in person, he said they looked nothing like the online pictures.

"Very misleading," Vargas said. "You were expecting a nice house for you and your family, and they're rundown and not even liveable sometimes."

Vargas decided not to rent out any of the homes he was shown. He said he then went to company mangers to get his money back, a stipulation of the signed contract. However, he said the company simply refused to give him back his deposit.

"When I got ahold of him, he kept on giving me the runaround," Vargas said. "[He said] that he wasn't going to give me my money back."

Now, it is several months later, and Vargas said he and his family still do not have their money back. He decided to involve the police. Vargas filed a police report. About a week later, he said a detective with the El Paso Police Department called him back.

"He [the detective] was saying if they couldn't find anything, they couldn’t do anything," Vargas said.

"Craigslist, they get so many people, that they can't verify every single person," said Det. Jeffrey Clifford of the EL Paso Police Department. He currently investigates white collar and financial crimes.

"When it comes down to it, we can only go after the criminal portion of it," Clifford said.

That means getting victims their money back is not what detectives are able to do. Clifford said only if the scammer is convicted, and only if a judge orders money to be paid out in restitution, could a victim possibly get their money back. Clifford said that can often mean small claims court as a means to get their money back.  But as Vargas told KFOX14, that is not always an option for victims, because of the resulting attorney fees and court costs.

"As it is, I'm already behind paying bills here left and right," Vargas said.

That's why Clifford said before purchasing online, consumers must do their homework beforehand.

"If it seems too good to be true, it probably is," Clifford said.

As for Vargas and his family, they could be out of luck. The company that allegedly took his deposit money went out of business, according to their website. So far, the police investigation has turned up nothing, greatly reducing the family's chances of ever seeing their money back.

FBI Tips for Avoiding Internet Business Fraud:

• Purchase merchandise from reputable dealers or establishments.
• Obtain a physical address rather than simply a post office box and a telephone number, and call the seller to see if the telephone number is correct and working.
• Send an e-mail to the seller to make sure the e-mail address is active, and be wary of those that utilize free e-mail services where a credit card wasn't required to open the account.
• Consider not purchasing from sellers who won't provide you with this type of information.
• Purchase merchandise directly from the individual/company that holds the trademark, copyright, or patent.

Report Online Fraud:

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), funded in part by the Bureau of Justice Assistance

El Paso Police Department: Financial Crimes Unit
911 N. Raynor | El Paso, TX 79903
Phone (915)564-7130
Fax (915) 564-6986
Police Report Line: (915) 832-4436