A news report from Channel 10 in Miami caught our eyes. Elaine Acosta of New Jersey was planning a trip to Asia when she saw an ad on Craigslist.com offering 60,000 miles for $600. She figured she could save a lot of money by using the miles to get to Asia instead of paying for a flight, so she contacted the man who had placed the ad.

“I tried to PayPal and he wouldn’t go through PayPal,” Acosta said. “He convinced me to pay cash and I should have known from there.” But she was drawn toward getting a good deal and wired the money to a man named Thomas Pomare in Miami. After the transaction went through, she didn’t hear from him and he did not return her emails or phone calls (yes, he’d given her his phone number).

After it was apparent that she was not going to get her miles or her money back, she and a group of friends boarded a plane to Miami and posted flyers all over town with his name and photo on it headed by “Criminal!” and “Internet Fraud.” She obtained his photo through a modeling Web site that also listed his email address and cell phone number. Channel 10 spoke to a man over the phone who said he was Thomas Pomare but he denied knowing Acosta and hung up when they asked more questions. Pomare has not been arrested or charged with any crime.