Remember the days when Craigslist was a small community resource to safely buy and sell just about anything? Since Craigslist’s popularity has skyrocketed and the site went global, those days seem to be just a memory. While Craigslist has taken great measures to inform users about common scams found on its sites, they continue to be saturated with them.
A St. Louis man got ripped off for $600 on a Craigslist scam recently. The listing advertised a “new in box Sunray Premium Playhouse” he bought for his son. The listing contained a Web site that looked, “very professional” according to the victim. Soon after he sent the $600, there was no further communication from the company and its Web site was shut down. The man never received the playhouse.
According to this report, identical listings were found on Craigslist sites here in Denver as well as in Little Rock, AR Hartford, CT, Fresno, CA and several other cities.
“Craigslist can be a great tool but users need to remember that most of it is free advertising – anyone can post on it, scam someone and remove the posting the very next day”, said Dale Mingilton, President and CEO of the BBB serving Denver/Boulder. “It has become a prime environment for scammers and criminals - so users need to use extreme caution”.
Your BBB advises to take the following advice to avoid being scammed whether you are buying or selling on Craigslist:
· Complete your transaction with someone who is local that you can meet in person. When meeting up, never go alone and try to meet in a public setting if possible.
· Never, ever make a wire transfer. If you pay this way, you will likely never receive what you bought and will have no recourse because wire transfers are virtually untraceable.
· Never accept a cashier’s check as payment. These are usually fraudulent checks and you will owe the amount to your bank once they determine the check is fake.
· Do not click on links. They are likely to be viruses or attempts to hack into your computer.
· Do not trust claims stating Craigslist “guarantees” the transaction. Craigslist is not involved in any way with transactions that take place on its sites.
· Avoid transactions where the seller wants to use an ‘online escrow service’. These typically turn out to be scams and the buyer never receives the product.
· Finally, if buying from a company like the St Louis man thought he was, CHECK IT WITH THE BBB FIRST! Visit www.denver.bbb.org or call (303) 758-2100. If there is a negative report or no report, you may want to avoid the transaction all together.
· To report internet fraud including Craigslist scams, contact the Internet Fraud Complaint Center / 800 251-3221 / www.ic3.gov
