Upper Macungie Township police say a resident of the 1400 block of Artisan Court reported Dec. 7 he responded to a Craigslist ad to hire a moving company.

Lt. Peter Nickischer, criminal investigations and community services division commander, said the homeowner communicated with the suspect via email and negotiated a price to move his belongings to another state.

The individual arrived later at the resident’s home and collected the fee for the moving job.

While on scene, the suspect contacted his “employees,” gave them the address for the homeowner and then left.

The movers arrived, loaded the homeowner’s valuables onto the moving truck and then requested payment.

Both the homeowner and the movers realized they had been scammed by the suspect.

The movers said they, too, had responded to a Craigslist ad for movers needed and were told they would be paid half their fee once the items were loaded onto the truck and the other half when they finished the move.

The homeowner lost the money he had given to the suspect and the movers lost income after loading a truck full of the homeowner’s items and not receiving any compensation.

Anyone who has information about this or similar incidents is asked to contact the police department’s Criminal Investigations Division at 484-661-5911.