Police say what appear to be legitimate Websites on the Internet can in fact be elaborate covers for an Internet scam. A Staunton couple says they recently fell prey to one such scam but say, of all people, they should have known better.

Merranda and her new husband Anthony were looking to beginning their new life together and needed a little money to get started. The couple does not want to be identified by their last name because Anthony used to be a law enforcement officer.

"Our financial budget was really tight," says Merranda.

After being denied a loan at Citibank, they were sent an e-mail about a pre-approved loan from American Freedom Funding and the timing was perfect.

"I looked into the company, I went to the Website AmericanFreeFund.com, looked at everything," says Anthony. "Everything looked fine and legit."

Still, Anthony and Merranda talked to an agent about some of their concerns. After all, Anthony was, at that time, a police officer who investigated online scams.

"I let [the agent] know of my occupation and I let him know that I've seen things like this," says Anthony. "[The agent] went through his whole spiel of 'No, we've been around for years, people do this all the time.'"

Feeling confident, the couple wired identification cards and nearly $800 to Canada and waited for their $5,000 loan, which never came.

"Computer technology has really added to the ability of the criminal and the predator," says Sgt. E.J. Salemi with the Staunton Police Department. "They now don't have to show their face when they're trying to get money from you. They can bounce email addresses and property so many times that we don't really know where they're coming from."

Police say a red flag should be anyone contacting you about a financial transaction.

Duped and swindled, Anthony and Merranda are starting their new life together once again, with new bank accounts, new ID cards and a healthy dose of skepticism.

"I felt like a fool," says Anthony.

Staunton Police encourage anyone who feels they've been the victim of an online scam to contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center. The site collects, reviews and refers Internet crime complaints to law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction to aid in preventative and investigative reports.