Craigslist Red Flags

by **Admin** Thu Sep 05, 2013 8:41 am

I personally have used Craigslist for over a decade for virtually everything imaginable. CL originated here in SF where I live-I even know Craig. I have never had problems aside from the occasional 'flake' that doesn't follow through - like not calling or showing up for appointment to buy an item etc.. nothing at all shady though-not ever. It is an amazing community run service and in most cities the people who use CL keep the site running appropriately and weed out whatever should not be there. SF Craigslist is HUGE-almost everyone uses it and it is GREAT! Every city and town in the country has their CL local pages which is great for all of us because if you are looking for something you can search the entire country for it and have it shipped -

I have bought and sold-including cars-have been hired for professional medical employment-have hired people for services-the list goes on and on. But I am cautious and use common sense and I use my spidey-sense. I saw this online and thought I would post:

Craigslist Red Flags

Craigslist is notorious for having scammers lurking around every corner of their website looking for victims. Here are a few signs and red flags to be on the lookout for whenever you’re on Craigslist.

The Bad Check: The classic Craigslist scam is offering to send you a check and all you have to do is wire a portion of it to some other account for some reason or another. All seems good, until the check bounces and all you are left with is less money in your account. As it says so on the site itself, “NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service – anyone who asks you to do so is likely a scammer”

Sense of Urgency: The scammer often wants you to act quickly without thinking. The deal must happen quickly or it won’t happen at all. In a lot of cases, it is better… for you… that it doesn’t.

Sympathetic language: Another sign that something is amiss is the use of apologies, listing of family or health problems, religious references etc. They want you to feel sympathy for them and their situation. Well, they won’t feel any sympathy for you when you find out you have been duped out of your hard-earned money.

Broken English: A lot of times, the scammers are from a foreign country. If there are a lot of errors with the words and grammar, this is a big red flag.

Sweet Talk: The person wants to meet with you but for some reason can’t. They think you are a great person, how much you connect, may even say they love you, etc., but for some reason will continuously delay meeting you in person. Be cautious.

Word of advise from your Friendly Neighborhood Maui Criminal Defense Lawyer: Craigslist is an incredible way to both buy and sell things. There are many good, honest, people on there just wanting to sell a few items collecting dust in their garage or back yard. It is also filled with people looking to take advantage of you. Along with the red flags listed above, trust your intuition. If something feels wrong, then perhaps your instinct is warning you of something. Pay attention!

To get more information on Craiglists Scams go here…
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by ijustcan'tstoplovinguMJ Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:38 pm

thanks for this admin! very insightful!

by midangerous Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:05 pm

Thanks for those wise words of warning Admin, that's needed!

by Sponsored content

Craigslist Red Flags

Craigslist Red Flags

Re: Craigslist Red Flags

Re: Craigslist Red Flags

Re: Craigslist Red Flags