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The Dangers of Craig's List

by Jon Tees
11 replies
From Craig's list

AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY -- IGNORE DISTANT BUYERS (SCAMMERS):
  1. Most cashier's check or money orders offered to craigslist sellers are COUNTERFEIT -- cashing them can lead to financial ruin
  2. Requests that you wire money abroad via Western Union or moneygram for any reason are SCAMS
  3. Learn more on our scams page -- avoid scammers by dealing locally with buyers you can meet in person!

This policy makes perfect sense from the standpoint of the buyer. But what if you are an honest seller looking to keep potentially dangerous strangers at arms length and do business at a distance? Someone may express an interest in what you are selling and agree to meet with you. You accept the face to face meeting and end up being robbed at gun/knife point. You can't trust people anymore, so honestly why would Craig's list want to put someone's life in danger so some buyer doesn't get ripped off? Half the time its the potential "buyers." who are truly the scam artists trying to rip off honest sellers.
#craig #dangers #list
  • Profile picture of the author AmyBrown
    Most people are unfortunately already familiar with the hazards/dangers of in-person transactions and act accordingly. Many people are unaware of the multitude of ways they can be separated from their money by online scammers.
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    "Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast."
     Tom Peters

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    • Profile picture of the author carlos123
      This whole craigslist is "evil" and is allowing people to rip each other off is...well...a rather laughable thing to me. I mean don't people use any common sense these days?

      Craigslist is no more and no less than an avenue through which people communicate. There is nothing more inheritantly "evil" about craigslist than there is about email. Or newspaper classifieds or any other means by which people communicate.

      Nor are buyers and/or sellers more likely to be ripped off through craigslist than through any other means of communication. To be sure craigslist facilitates and provides an opportunity for the baser side of human nature to come out in full living color by it's anonymous posting capabilities but...the same sort of thing could be said of even this forum to some degree.

      How can I protect myself from predators and evil doers out to get me? Use common sense. Meet in a public place. Get things in writing if you can. Accept only cash payments and generally only from people who live locally.

      Other than that...keep on trucking. The world has some evil people in it and some good one's. That's never going to change.

      That's just the way it is.

      Carlos
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  • Profile picture of the author InternetMarketingIQ
    People are people. I sell things on craigslist.

    If you live in a world of Paranoia then you are doomed to sit at home and live off welfare.

    Sure there are bad guys.

    If you worry about in place meetings take people with you and meet in public.

    Craigslist is nothing more than a free classifieds site.

    The person I am meeting is taking risk too... as they don't know me and they don't know if I have a concealed weapons permit. Nearly everyone I know does too. What is funny is I worked at a small business with about 6 employees years back. At any given time everyone was armed. I would feel pretty bad for the person that tried to rob the place.

    I started target shooting when I was a kid. The Bad Guys don't always win. I know this may sound stupid to some, but the reality is without risk there is not reward. And if you are not prepared for life then you have bigger things to worry about.

    I have yet to hear of anyone being robbed on the local news or local press because they tried to sell something on Craigslist. I suppose it happens, but it certainly is not as common as people just trying to buy and sell things.

    Works both ways.
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    Internet Marketing IQâ„¢
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  • Profile picture of the author AmyBrown
    Considering the number of ads on Craigslist it's a very small percentage but it happens and it makes the news.

    "craigslist robbery" - Google Search
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    "Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast."
     Tom Peters

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  • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
    Something else to ponder: the personals section is even more dangerous. I can't tell you how many people send you pics of themselves that aren't them. They send you this gorgeous creature and then when you meet up.....well, let's just say it looked like they ate the gorgeous creature. The psychos and weirdos in that part of CL could be it's own reality show.......

    RoD "Coffee-Rules-The-World" Cortez
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    "Your personal philosophy is the greatest determining factor in how your life works out."
    - Jim Rohn
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    • Profile picture of the author Dean Martin
      Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

      Something else to ponder: the personals section is even more dangerous. I can't tell you how many people send you pics of themselves that aren't them. They send you this gorgeous creature and then when you meet up.....well, let's just say it looked like they ate the gorgeous creature. The psychos and weirdos in that part of CL could be it's own reality show.......

      RoD "Coffee-Rules-The-World" Cortez
      Sounds like a great premise for a YouTube video show. Hidden camera videos the whole 'meet up' while you confront the person with the picture they originally emailed you...
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  • Profile picture of the author Lawrh
    The overlooked thing about Craigslist is the sheer scale. With millions of buyers and sellers even 0.3% bad transactions is a very big number. The media only focuses on the negative and will report the number not the percentage. Scary numbers make scary news. Craigslist has no choice but to react to the scary news and give the impression they are protecting you.

    Caveat Emptor, Caveat Venditor
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    “Strategy without action is a day-dream; action without strategy is a nightmare.” – Old Japanese proverb -

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    • Profile picture of the author kettlewell
      Originally Posted by Lawrh View Post

      Caveat Emptor, Caveat Venditor
      That really sums it up.
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  • Profile picture of the author bobsstuff
    I have sold quite a few physical products on Craigslist, first from my business and now from my home.
    I have never had of fear of being robbed or worse.
    I am comfortable having people come to my home to buy what I offer.
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    Bob Hale
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  • Profile picture of the author Jonathan Ferraro
    I agree with everybody else. I think there is WAY too much focus on the scams. It's really a very small percentage. I'm sure you could have found the same kind of percentage of scams with newspaper classifieds. Well....you know....back when people used to read newspapers
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary King
    unfortunately, I'm sure they have to put that out there legally.

    You have to TELL me that I should think about things and use common sense, or I can't be held accountable, right? I mean, WHY would anyone expect that adults could actually think for themselves?
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