There are times in life when we learn from our mistakes the hard way. Three weeks ago I learned not to trust online sales, and the lesson cost me $3,000.

At that time I was looking for an affordable, reliable, and good -looking car. I started my search on the Web site Craig’s List, where I found a few ads for affordable vehicles. Among them was a 2004 Mazda 6 that instantly caught my eye.

The luster of the black paint and the smooth shape blew my mind. My first impression was that it looked too good to be true. Not only did the car look great, but the $2,900 price tag was even better. And that is when I thought there had to be catch, so I decided to contact the owner to get more information.

Being an excited college student, eager to get my first car, I was also eager to see the downside of this deal, but decided to give it a try.

I e-mailed the owner of the car, who replied right away explaining that the reason why the car was on sale for such a low price was that he is in the military and that he had been assigned out of the United States, so he needed to get rid of the vehicle as soon as possible. He said that the car was located in New Jersey, and thanks to his military benefits, I wouldn’t have to worry about shipping cost.

We exchanged several e-mails, in which he portrayed himself professionally and explained to me that the transaction would take place safely through the Internet by using a legit transaction company called WorldPay. I later discovered that WorldPay had nothing to do with the transaction. So I get the invoice email from WorldPay. The mail looked very legit and it showed easy steps towards what I thought would be the deal of the year. All I had to do was send a money order, and wait for the shipping details for my ride.

Deep inside, I knew that there was a chance of losing my money. But after asking close friends and family members I came to conclude that I would never find out unless I try. With some money in my savings, and my mom’s okay, I cautiously made the money order.

While making my money order, my heart thumped as the banker slowly counted my 30 one- hundred dollar bills.

I immediately e-mailed the company and I got a fast response saying that they will e-mail the shipping details soon.

That was the last time I heard from the WorldPay representative. It was when I later researched WorldPay that I noticed they never work with money orders. I felt sick to my stomach as I read their policies and realized that my fear of being scammed had come true.

It took me time to get over losing that much money. I ended up buying a real car that same week which helped ease the pain. It’s true that sometimes when you really want something, you only see the positive side of the story. If that happens to you, just remember: not all that shines is gold.

This is considered a crime in Grand Theft, and my case has been reported to local authorities for further investigation.