MoneyGram Issued money orders to me and asked that I cash them and forward cash through Western Union Fairbault Minnesota

Even if the money orders were not fraudulent - it would have been a money laundering scheme.

Either way - both are illegal.

Anything having to do with money changing hands with a 3rd party is probably illegal.

"These scams on Craig's list have to stop."

The only reason these scams exist is because people do not use common sense. In the real world, valid money orders worth thousands of dollars do not just show up in your mailbox. You basically sent untraceable Western Union money transfers to someone you don't know in a foreign country. You can be fairly certain that you'll never see that money again.

The number one way to tell if you're being scammed is when someone you don't know requires you to send them money via Western Union or Moneygram. That is the only way they can get your money without leaving a paper trail.

On the Craigslist homepage you can click on "avoid scams" and you'll get a nice list of what not to do. The second and third items on their list are :

NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service - anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.

FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.

sorry but you fell for a very common scam. Never take OR send money orders to someone you don't know and never cash THEN return money. You are now responsible for paying all that money back to your bank. There is no way around this, you were scammed. Sorry this happened to you.