Craigslist Scams
Craigslist scams to be aware of include Rental Schemes, counterfeit money orders, bad checks, online tickets scams, phony escrow services, home repair and scams related to buying or selling a car.
Craigslist is a great resource for selling things, finding apartments, locating services and meeting people. Most of the time transactions go smoothly and
both seller and buyer are satisfied with the Craigslist experience. Danger awaits the unwary buyer or seller on Craigslist. Most these scams follow the
same pattern you see on eBay and other online auction sites. Try posting that you have a piece of jewelry or some other easily-mailed valuable item for
sale and the first response you get will probably be someone trying scam or trick you out of your money.
Nigerian Scams are just the beginning
Emails from Nigeria offering you more than your selling price if you accept their check or money order are typical.
The fact that this is a scam may seem
obvious but there are lots of variations on this theme that fool people every day. Don't add your name to the growing list of Craigslist fraud victims.
Be smart, be aware and if in doubt ask your friends or someone with internet savvy what they think if things sound fishy.
This page details a few common
Craigslist scam but no list is ever complete because new versions of old scams appear all the time. Once you know the common themes these criminals use
you can usually spot them a mile away and they become little more than a subject of amusement.
To help avoid these scams Craigslist suggests that you keep all transactions local and don't do business with people that live beyond your local area. You
are also urged to use caution and common sense as you should with all online financial transactions. I once received an offer for a purchase where the person
said they lived in California but requested that I email the item to somewhere in Oregon. Now what's wrong with this picture? Offering more than what you
asked for is another odd piece of behavior. Who would make such an offer? Poor grammar and misspelled words are other clues. In the offer I mentioned earlier
both Oregon and California were misspelled and English was obviously not their native language. It seems easy enough to spot these doesn't it? Yet why do
so many people fall for these Craigslist scams?
Craigslist provides the following advice to anyone using their service:
- Trust your instincts
- Deal only with local buyers and sellers
- NEVER wire funds to a distant buyer, via Western Union or any other carrier
- Be wary if the other party wants to use an escrow service such as BidPay, Squaretrade, or even PayPal
- NEVER give out personal financial information (eBay or PayPal info, checking account number, SSN, etc.)
- always remember the most important rule -- BUYER BEWARE
This advice isn't specific to Craigslist. It's just all-around good advice. Below are the top three Craigslist scams.
- The buyer or seller doesn't live near you.
- The buyer or seller wants to pay by cashier's check, US Postal Service money order, Western Union, or escrow service (BidPay, Squaretrade, etc.).
- The buyer or seller won't agree to meet with you in person.
If you happen to see something on Craigslist that looks scammy, you should send an email to "abuse@craigslist.org" and
give them as much detail as you can about the listing. Make sure you include URL (or 8 digit post ID number) in your email.
If you're selling something and you think a con artist has expressed interest, forward it to to "abuse@craigslist.org".
Make sure you are really on Craigslist!
There some sites out there that attempt to capitalize on Craigslist's success. Some have similar domain names and the owner's hope that you will make
mistake while typing in the URL and end up on their site instead of the one you intended. Sometimes you will find nothing more than advertising but
a couple of these imposters are phishing scams with layouts that duplicate the real Craigslist to fool you. The real web address for Craigslist is
www.craigslist.org although the www in the URL can usually be replaced with the name of the
city you whose listings you wish to explore. If you go to the main address I just listed you will be able to find the local listings you're interested.
Just make sure that you haven't ended up at www.craigslist.com or www.craiglist.org or some other common misspelling of the Craigslist domain. You'd
be surprised at how many people type in the wrong URL and end up somewhere they didn't mean to. That's why snatching up these domains can be so lucrative.
So remember, when you are looking for Craigslist don't type in craig list or craigs list
or craiglist because you want to be sure you're at the right place. People often fail to realize their mistake immediately so pay attention
to any clues telling you that something is "phishy" about the site. If there's any doubt, go back and re-type the URL or do a Google search for "Craigslist"
to be sure.
Craigslist Ticket Scams
Craigslist provides an excellent means to sell unneeded tickets to sporting events, shows,
concerts, festivals, fairs or even airline tickets. All you need to do is make a post and
wait for the emails and/or phone calls to start coming in. Finding deals or tickets to hot
shows or "sold out" events has made it one of the first places to turn to when you want to
purchase tickets, especially when they're for premiere events. Many of these
tickets are sold for top dollar, but considering the considerable cost of tickets, even
face value can mean a lot of money is going to change hands. Imagine, for example, that you
find someone selling season's tickets to all the home games played by you favorite NFL team.
That could easily have a face value of $1500 for 2 good seats.
This means that you have to be careful when purchasing tickets from connections made on
Craigslist. The tickets could be stolen or counterfeit or they could be priced far beyond the
face value. The tickets may even have been used at a previous, similar event. There are a
lot of scams out there awaiting the unwary. Luckily, there's something
you can do that might help you avoid going home with a counterfeit that costs nothing but a
little of you time. Make sure you know what the tickets you're purchasing are supposed to
look like. Good printers are so cheap that with a little practice, anyone could create a
decent looking ticket facsimile. Good enough to fool anyone that doesn't know what the
ticket's supposed to say on it and what the design is. You'd be amazed at how many people are
fooled because they don't know what the genuine tickets should look like. This won't save
you from a truly dedicated master of the counterfeit arts but it will certainly give you
a major advantage when rendezvousing with a ticket seller.
Buyers and sellers should try to meet face-to-face but make sure it's in a public place. If
you're bringing $1500 for those to season's tickets it's probably not a good idea to meet
someone you've never met, alone in an isolated place late at night. A lot of crooks will
settle for a few hundred. I'm not saying that you should be afraid to engage in transactions
like this. I'm saying that you should but play it safe. I've bought and sold tickets many
times through Craigslist and wouldn't hesitate to do it again in the future.
Read more about online ticket scams
 How to buy tickets online without getting ripped off
Scam leaves traveler ticketless
Craigslist Car Scams
Buying and selling cars on Craigslist cab be a huge money-saver for both parties. Both can expect to make
or save more than if they had gone to a dealership. This makes the Auto category in Craigslist's For Sale
section very active, especially in urban areas. With so many people exchanging so many cars for so much cash,
it was only a matter of time before the criminal element took notice. Fraudulent postings are now a common
occurrence. The crudest attempts are easily ignored, but some schemes can be more complex. Some scams are
operated by clever, experienced con men that have an answer for everything.
Stolen checks, counterfeit checks and bounced checks are costing people their money, cars or both. In one
common scam, the buyer accidently pays more by money order or cashier's check than was asked for and asks
you to refund them the overage. If you send them the money before the money order clears the bank, you are
braver than you are smart. These money orders often turn out to be counterfeits and any money sent
them is lost forever.
Buying and selling cars can be done safely, but these are big ticket items and many sellers have reported at
least one suspicious response to a posting. I'm so used to them now, that I'd feel insulted if I posted
something for sale and never received my free scam attempt.
To help you identify suspicious buyers or sellers, we've put together a list of a few of the warning signs.
- Cars are priced far below current market value.
- The seller claims to be in the military and is stationed overseas.
- The posting does not include a phone number.
- The seller will demand that you use an online escrow service of their choice.
- The person receiving the call is referred to as a "pickup agent."
- Payment must be wired to or from another country. Western Union is often requested.
- The buyer or seller is very anxious to conclude the transaction.
Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Read more about Craigslist Car Scams
Tips to Avoid Online car scams
Car scammers target Web buyers, sellers
Craigslist's New York apartment classifieds are a con artist favorite
Fraud in New York City's Craigslist classifieds has become so pervasive that Craigslist has considered charging a fee for its ads. Their hope is that by
putting a charge in place, they will discourage phony listings. Most of these fraudulent postings are common bait and switch schemes. However, some of the
cases reported involved more elaborate schemes run by professional criminals. These scam artists have managed to bilk apartment seekers for thousands of
dollars. Everyone knows how competitive the New York apartment market is, with too many people looking for far too few apartments. Some bold con artists
have capitalized on this situation and used it to their advantage. In one of the worst cases we found a woman who promised a small studio apartment to
several dozen different people. She collected enough money from each hopeful tenant in the form of rent and security deposits to make off with over $60,000.
This may not be the most common apartment scam on Craigslist but it's not unique. People sub-renting the same apartment to multiple people and making off
with their money are numerous enough that anyone using Craigslist or any other online service should thoroughly check out their landlord before handing
over their money.
Read more about Online Rental Scams
Nigerian Rental Scams - How to detect and avoid them
Rental Scams - Fleecing Both Landlords and Tenants
Phony Money Orders and Bad Check Scams on Craigslist
There are some things that should immediately raise red flags for anyone buying or selling on Craigslist. A few of these are buyers wanting to pay by money
order, the buyers is from another country or continent such as Nigeria in Africa, the inclusion of "business partners" in what should be a relatively simple
sale and finally over-complicated payment and shipping processes which end up with you shipping the item for sale first and them paying later. There are many
variations on this theme and many will involve official looking packing slips and money orders or checks from institutions you trust such as Western Union.
Many times the wording of the emails sent to you will seem odd and the grammar poor. That's because they are little more than form letters with terms and
language designed to suck you in, confuse you or put you at ease with what is nothing more than an old fashioned Nigerian 419 scam. Sometimes you will actually
receive a money order first but make sure the money order clears at the bank before you send anything! These money orders will often bounce or be counterfeits
and if you ship your goods to the buyer right after you drop the payment you received off at the bank you may be in for a rude surprise. If someone wants what
you are selling so badly that they want it shipped halfway around the world then they can probably wait a few more days for it to be shipped. Don't be swayed
by threats if the buyer starts using them on you. Insuring that someone's payment is valid is quite fair. Most reasonable people will understand this. So if
the person wanting to purchase something from you appears too demanding you should wonder if it's because your savvy is ruining their crime. This is not
necessarily the case because some people are just impatient or rude. Most people would rather weather a few rude emails than get ripped off.
Read more about Counterfeit Money Order and Check Scams
Counterfeit Money Orders
Nigerian Counterfeit Check Scams
Phony Escrow Service Site Scams on Craigslist
This popular Craigslist scam will work a lot like the bad check and counterfeit money order scams now rampant on Craigslist with a few minor twists. What makes
this scam different is that the person running the scam is selling the item rather than buying it. Their Craigslist listing will probably be something relatively
expensive like a car or expensive tool. The more expensive an item for sale on the internet is the more paranoid all parties involved in the sale are likely to
become. Many people like to use escrow services which are trustworthy third parties who pay the seller once an item has been received. This is a perfectly normal
method of doing business on the web or elsewhere as long as the escrow service is legitimate.
Watch out for sellers insisting you use an escrow
company you've never heard of, especially if it's abroad. Don't get tricked into using Western Union thinking that it's perfectly safe because it's a name
you know and trust. Savvy online shoppers know to steer clear of buyers wanting you to transfer money to them via Western Union or engage in currency transfers.
They know better than allowing another party to draw money directly from their bank accounts. Never hand "phishy" sounding escrow sites the keys
to your account or you could end up paying a lot more than you expected.
Read more about Bogus Escrow Service Websites
Phony Escrow Website Scams
Escrow fraud ruining Craigslist?
Craigslist Purchase Protection Program
Some Craigslist users have reported something called the Craigslist Purchase Protection scam. What happens is that after you email someone about an item you get an email
that has text to the effect of:
Craigslist Transaction Confirmed! Purchase Protection Granted!
Per your request, we have verified all the details of this transaction. We concluded that they are accurate. Please follow our instructions to complete the transaction safely.
Craigslist Transaction Confirmed!
Current status: Payment pending
Here would be some details about the Craigslist purchase you supposedly made
Complete your Craigslist transaction in 5 easy steps:
* Craigslist accepts the transaction and offers purchase protection to the buyer
Next you'll receive a document that may appear to be an invoice. Relax, it's a phony. There is no official
Craigslist buyer or purchase protection program. Craigslist doesn't officially back any transaction. Taking
care of business is your job.
Pay attention to those alert boxes at the top of Craigslist postings because they are there for your benefit
and warn about these and many other scams on Craigslist.
Craigslist Scam Related Links:
Nightmare on Orchard Street
How to Avoid Paypal Scams
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