WALLINGFORD, Conn. -- Officials at the Connecticut Better Business Bureau said they've been flooded with complaints from people who have fallen victim to scams posted on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

"Social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are actually more popular for communicating than e-mail, and advertisers are smelling that money in the wind," said Howard Schwartz, of the Better Business Bureau.

But consumer advocates are warning that with the rise in popularity of these sites comes a lot of potential scammers.

"Most businesses that advertise are legitimate, but consumers should understand that because they're on a site that they trust does not necessarily mean they should trust the ads that they see," Schwartz said.

Some popular pitfalls include ads that give away free electronics, offer quick fixes for your fitness or allow you to work from home, he said. The problem is that often there's a catch that costs you money, he said.

"If they don't read the fine print, they could end up paying an awful lot of money to do so and end up with recurring charges on their credit cards," Schwartz said.

Another red flag, he said, is a link to a page of testimonials that can easily be faked.

Wallingford resident Cal Collingham said that when he's online he's very careful.

"I'm so old school, if I want to buy something, I buy stuff online sometimes, but I tend to go to a store to buy it, and if it's too good to be true, it's usually too good to be true," he said.

If you're suspicious of an ad, you can check it on the Better Business Bureau's Web site.