(PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo.) — On Friday, August 2, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) warned about a scam involving leasing or buying shipping containers.

PCSO said individuals are falsely posing as businesses that lease or sell shipping containers and are scamming people out of thousands of dollars. Often the scammer will advertise containers online that don’t exist, using fake listings and photos of containers, and may even post a link to a real-looking business webpage. They ask for payment upfront, but the container is never delivered.

The Sheriff’s Office encourages the community to do research before contacting the company:

Search for information on rating sites, such as the Better Business Bureau

Study their website carefully. If a physical address is listed, check it against Google Maps to see if it matches, or if it comes up as an empty lot or home address.

Read reviews posted by customers, but not just those posted on the company’s website; check third-party sites for reviews as well and look for reports of scams or dishonest business practices.

Be skeptical of extremely low prices and non-traditional payment methods. Use caution if they say they can’t accept credit cards or the credit card machine is currently down.

Be wary of aggressive sales tactics. Scammers want to apply pressure to keep you from thinking through your decision.

If the seller won’t let you see the product in person or insists you pay first, you are probably dealing with a scammer.