Is Craigslist safe?
Craigslist has proved to be a useful resource for finding just about anything at a low price. But more commonly it seems people are sacrificing their safety just to get a good deal.
Recent reports in states across the country show that people have scammed, robbed and even killed in connection with the site.
Police in Washington state recently arrested a man for a robbery that occured in early January, according to a local newspaper, the Yakima Herald. The victims, a woman and her son, met with the man contacted through Craigslist. When she got to the empty parking lot, she was met by a man with a gun — who robbed her.
Perhaps the most troubling Craiglist related crime happened in Oregon when police said a pregnant woman was murdered by a woman she met on Craigslist, where the suspect was selling baby clothes.
In Boston, a woman who advertised masseuse services on Craigslist was murdered in a Marriott Hotel April 14 by a medical student, 23, who responded to the ad. The man was arrested 10 days later, ABC reported.
According to the Miami Herald, police are searching for crooks in Jacksonville who place false ads claiming to be A/C repairman, but never return the item when they take it to be fixed. A local news station also reported that a woman in Syracuse was scammed out of $275 when she wired her money to a seller, but never received the product in the mail.
Can these scams be avoided? Have you used Craigslist, and do you think its safe?
Is the risk of being scammed worth the legitimate deals?
I have used craigslist without any problems. I am still cautious with it, since there are not safeguards like those that exist on ebay and other sites. We once listed an item and got a near immediate offer to buy. The buyer said they would send us a “draft” for the full amount. Clearly a scammer. When we replied that we would only meet them locally in a very busy area, we never heard from them again.
Never used it, and doubt that I ever will. Call me paranoid, but no way I trust sites like this. I have never logged onto Ebay or any such. I don’t even like to order from secured retail sites, although on occasion I do — at least you are dealing with an established entity with Amazon or the major company websites.
Craigslist and Ebay, etc. can advertise their safeguards all they want; there is just no way you can know what you’re going to get, because you have no way of knowing anything about the person(s) with whom you are dealing. I know a guy who bought a car on Ebay. He got the car just fine; only problem was, it didn’t have an engine. Other than that, it was a really great deal… No, thanks.
I’ve done a lot of deals on Craigslist and I’ve been using it since at least 2005, maybe longer. Like eBay, you win some and you lose some. I’ve been hassled sometimes but never felt in danger. But way more often than not, I’ve gotten good deals on good stuff.
The big key to safety is to insist on meeting in a public place IN DAYLIGHT. I’ve met people in the parking lots of busy grocery stores and shopping malls, near the entrance. That’s always worked well. Take someone with you, or at the very least, have your cell phone with you. Make sure you appear to be talking on the phone when the other person sees you–this sends the message that someone else knows where you are and what you’re doing. Meeting someone in an empty parking lot at night is asking for trouble–that’s only slightly better arranging a meeting in a dark alley next to the dumpster.
If the item is too big to bring to a public place easily and you have to meet at a private residence, then don’t go anywhere alone, and don’t have strangers over when you’re home alone.
The key to not getting ripped off is to examine whatever it is before handing over the cash. I once tried to buy a copy of Windows XP and a copy of Adobe Photoshop for an attractive price, but it took about 2 seconds’ examination to determine it was counterfeit. (Beware of anyone in South County advertising Microsoft or Adobe software at too-good-to-be-true prices.) If you see anything wrong with it, do what I did. Politely hand the item back, don’t hand over the cash, apologize, get in your car and leave.
The corollary to this is don’t ever do deals via wire transfer or mail or anything other than in person. Someone in Nigeria tried to buy my laptop in 2005. I called the deal off. If I wanted the hassle of shipping, I would have done the deal on eBay, where both the buyer and seller have some recourse if the deal goes bad.
If you’re doing the selling, deal in cash. I took a check once, when I sold my Playstation 2, and didn’t have any problems (I saved a copy of the check and all the person’s info just in case) but I would have preferred not to do that.
Be very careful about buying computers or electronics or similar items. Make sure you have some way to determine the item works properly. Bring along an expert if you aren’t one.
And finally, be hesitant to hand over your home phone number. Give a cell number instead, since it’s fairly easy to use a home phone number to get your address and possibly other information about you. If it’s practical to make all your arrangements via e-mail, so much the better.
Sites like ebay are considered safer because they have ways to protect both buyers and sellers from electronic fraud methods, but can anyone name one reason that Craigslist would be any more dangerous than a newspapers Classified section?
There were lots of ways for local strangers to meet and exchange goods since long before the internet existed. Did scam artists not also exist then?
Nothing is safe unless you can see it and feel it and then there is still a chance it’s still not safe. I have used Craigslist and e-bay without problems. I can only assume the dangers are there with all products, however if you are looking for a used powerwasher you are probably safer than looking for a date. You have to use your head and common sense whatever you do. If it looks too good to be true, it probably isn’t true. Stay away from it.
Craig,
The only difference is that the newspaper takes your ad over the phone, you provide billing info (for example cc and billing address) so there is some trace of you. On Craigslist, where the ads are free, one just needs an e-mail addy to place an ad. And with the handful or more of sites that offer free e-mail addresses, you can do the thing relatively off the radar.
That said, in both scenarios one needs to use caution. I have used Craigslist to sell Rams tickets and have not had any issues. Of course, I am the seller so I do have to do a lot of reassuring more than worrying.
Following are a few simple tips to make sure consumers have a safe — and successful — shopping experience:
Always meet in a public place — and avoid making an in-person transaction alone
Inspect all items before you buy
Beware of underpriced offers — if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is
Don’t wire money or take advance payments
Insist on cash–never use money wires, MoneyGrams or Western Union
Never give out personal identifiable information, such as your credit card numbers, Social Security numbers or bank numbers
Only pay for shipping if you know the seller
A full safety guide can be found here: http://safety.oodle.com/files/Oodle_Safety_Brochure.pdf
Facebook Marketplace offers an alternative, where seller and buyer profiles are listed, so you know more about the person you are dealing with
Everyone here is posting good common sense advice about staying safe on the site, or on the internet anywhere for that matter. I guess the problem with common sense is that sometimes it’s all too uncommon. I’ve bought very nice furniture pieces at great prices, and even found my current apartment on craigslist and have had no problems.
Good things are always ruined or trashed by rotten people. I have used Craigslist many times buying and selling, and have always met nice and decent people. (I trust it and use it over e-bay any day) You know the old saying “one bad apple spoils…” This is no different.
No site is safe. You just have to deal localy and make sure you touch the stuff you buying by hand. never go for out of state deals. They are lots crook every where.
suzyjax, the StlPD has free listings, as well, for items under xxx dollars. It would be very simple to take out one of these ads, and provide false information to the PD. There’s no billing information, since there’s no bill.
I use Craig’s list and e-bay. Safety isn’t too much of a concern, because I use common sense. I’ve sold a few items on Craig’s List. The small items, I’ve met the people at a Schnucks parking lot in the middle of the day. I sold a bed, too. So I had to let people come to my house to look. So I set those times up during the day, on the weekend, when most of my neighbors are home and out doing something in the yard. I had one e-mail, stating that they would have their lawyer issue me a check for the full amount, and that they would have their mover come pick up the bed, if I would send them my name, address, phone number, etc. As if anyone would pay a lawyer and a mover to come pick up a $200 bed. Duh. No thanks, blatantly obvious scammer idiot. I sent them an e-mail saying I would accept cash only. No response.
Hella good deals can be had on e-bay. And with e-bay, you have recourse for a refund if you receive bad goods, or don’t receive anything at all. This has happened to me twice, and both times I got my money back, 100%.
I bought my truck off e-bay, also. It was from a Ford dealer in Texas selling cars on e-bay motors. I got it for about $5000 less than any truck with the same options/mileage/condition around the St Louis area. Probably because it was a black 4X4. I can imagine it’s hard to sell a black 4X4 truck in Houston Texas. The e-bay auction simply required a $1000 deposit, and I was not locked into to the purchase until I could see and check out the truck, and would have gotten my $1000 back if the truck didn’t check out. I flew down to Texas for a $200 plain ticket, the truck checked out, and I drove it back to St Louis the next day. Would I have flown to Texas for a private individual selling a truck? Of course not, but that just goes back to that common sense thing.
Common sense is in short supply these days. If you are buying from someone you don’t go in their home alone, you don’t meet them in empty parking lots… don’t blame CL - it’s the people who use it who use no common sense!!
Craigslist is TOO DANGEROUS!