CLEVELAND -- If you plan to sell a car or household items and want to list it on the Internet, NewsChannel5 has an important consumer warning for you.

NewsChannel5 Troubleshooter John Matarese reported that more sellers are becoming victims of online scam artists.

Ken Hickman runs a small computer shop, and thinks of himself as a smart guy. But he almost fell victim to a fast growing scam from Africa.

"I received an e-mail from a person in west Africa," Hickman said.

It was a potential customer responding to an online ad that Hickman had placed.

"The person requested he would like to place an order for 100 hard drives," he said.

Only when the payment arrived in a marked envelope did Hickman learn his customer was in Nigeria.

That made him suspicious about the cashier's check that was inside. It looked legitimate. But when he called the FBI, he learned the check was bad and could have wiped out his small business.

"Anyone could have cashed that check, and 30 days later the bank would come back on that account," Hickman said.

Matarese warns that you should beware of any offer from outside the United States and "Don't Waste Your Money."