Scammers are promising shipping containers, like these, then duping customers out of thousands of dollars. Buyers are told that payment is required before a container purchased online can be shipped.

The Augustine is based on a 40-ft (12.2-m) shipping container that's painted a uniform dark gray – or "Iron Ore" – and has been modified with insulation, windows, and a front door.

Custom Container Living has transformed a shipping container into an ultra-compact tiny house that squeezes a home for two into just 160 sq ft (14.8 sq m). Though certainly basic, it also doesn't ...

The largest unit, which combines two shipping containers is 640 square feet, rents for $2,650 a month. Comparable units in Manhattan range in price from $3,000 to $6,000.

On the outside, the 40-foot solid steel box sitting in a downtown parking lot might look like any regular shipping container. But on the inside, it's home to hundreds of growing mushrooms.