CraigsList scams - avoiding CraigsList scams
In this section -Fake Job Offers
Simple Check Cashing Fraud
Phishing
Car Scams
Escrow Scams
Fake Apartment Scams (for tenants)
Fake Apartment Scams (for landlords)
Overall
This section isn’t specific to CraigsList, but any site used for local advertisements, be it jobs, selling items or apartments and flats.
Sites like CraigsList and Gumtree are designed for local advertisements so it is generally assumed you are able to meet the people you are doing business with in person. This means there isn’t much seller or buyer protection offered at CraigsList and other local sites as they do not involve themselves with the transaction at all, even though a scammer may claim that they do. They purely advertise. This means sellers and buyers alike on such local sites are very open to certain types of scams.
Fake Job Offers -
First off you have fake job offer scams, but you can find out a lot more about them here.Simple Check Cashing Fraud -
The most common and simplest type of scam is check cashing fraud. This is where the buyer will simply tell the seller they cannot meet in person for whatever reason, be it they live too far away or are temporarily out of the country. The scammer will send the victim a check that is fake. The victim cashes the check, sends the item and the check then bounces. The victim is left without the item and possibly in trouble with the bank for cashing false checks.If you are selling on a local site like CraigsList or Gumtree, only deal with people local to you that you can meet and never accept checks. If you sell items that can be easily mailed like jewellery, you can expect scammers to contact you, and they will rarely agree to meet in person. Also be especially cautious of checks that pay you more than you asked for and ask you to wire the difference back to them on the Internet. The victim in this case can lose the item and the money they wired when the check fails clearance! Also be wary (as with most scams) of bad spelling and grammar. Most of these types of scams originate from West Africa.
Phishing -
Phishing attacks are also present so never click on a link that someone unknown to you has sent you in order to get to the CraigsList website. There are similar looking sites that are there to get your personal details, so always make sure you are on the www.craigslist.org website – check the URL in the address bar!Car Scams –
For people selling cars on CraigsList, we refer you to the above section on check cashing fraud.For people buying cars, only consider offers where you can view the car first. Ignore anyone who is selling a car but claims they cannot meet you first for whatever reason (e.g. out of the country.) Be aware for cars that are overly cheap and where the seller asks you to pay through money transfer or an escrow service.
Escrow Scams –
Escrow services are reliable companies that handle money transactions to make sure that the buyer has received the item before the seller gets the money. However many scammers will use fake escrow services that belong to them to scam people. Don’t use escrow services you cannot find information on. Do a simple Google search with the escrow service name in it followed by the word scam. If you see information on the escrow service being used in scams you know to avoid. If you cannot pull up any information on the escrow service the same advice applies.Fake Apartment Scams (for tenants) –
Many people look for potential living accommodation on such local sites like CraigsList because often they can offer the most competitive prices and of course are local to your desired area. Rental scams are commonplace on CraigsList and also through unsolicited mail. Potential tenants should always be cautious if they are house hunting this way. Especially prolific on CraigsList is scams regarding New York apartments.For a start, always make sure you are able to view the apartment/flat/house before paying any security or rental deposits. This may sound obvious, but many rental scams originate from Africa, and the “landlord” claims he is out of the country on business (or a similar excuse) so can only send you photos and a description of the accommodation. You are then expected to send them the deposits (typically through wire transfer) in order to get the keys and other documentation. As soon as the money is transferred you don’t hear back from the scammer. The apartment never existed, or if it did, never belonged to the scammer.
Watch out for poor grammar and spelling. In order for the scam to be believable the scammer will usually send you application forms. Are these forms believable? Do they have silly questions or comments that make no sense? Be on the lookout. Never send money to people you don’t know through money transfer.
Are you being forced to act quickly? Scammers rely on you making quick ill informed decisions so to increase the chance of this happening they will make up excuses as to why you have to act quickly, for example the accommodation is in high demand. Don’t make hasty decisions.
When you view your potential accommodation, request ID and paperwork from the landlord. The most audacious crimes are the ones where they do show you around the property as the scammer themselves have rented it with false identification. Check up on the landlord on the Internet before paying. Has the landlord asked for a credit check and a guarantor? If they have not, this may be considered a red flag.
Fake Apartment Scams (for landlords) -
People looking to rent out accommodation are not safe from scammers either, though the types of scams available are somewhat more limited.The only way landlords advertising online can really be scammed are by scammers who make up an excuse for the landlord to send them money. The typical way of doing this is when the scammer will accept the accommodation and send you a check for too much. (Yes its check fraud again.) They will claim it was a mistake and can the amount overpaid be send back through money transfer. Of course the check is fake and the amount wired back is lost. Has the person seen the accommodation? Don’t send money to people you have not met. Did the person really seem that interested in the property? If not, be cautious.
CraigsList PayPal Scams
Nearly everyone who does business online is familiar with PayPal electronic transfer. It is considered one of the more safer options when buying and selling online, but however is still susceptible to scams, especially scams on selling sites like CraigsList.Because CraigsList and other local sites operate within a local area, even accepting PayPal payments can be considered risky, since there should be no reason the seller and buyer can meet in person and pay in cash. However many people insist on PayPal and for the most part it is a safe way of doing business. However people selling items are advised to watch out for the following red flags that may indicate a scam.
- Shipping to an unconfirmed address? If a buyer requests an item to be shipped to an unconfirmed address, then this can be a warning indicator. PayPal confirmed addresses are addresses that have been matched to the billing address on the PayPal members credit or debit card, and hence belong to the genuine owner of the PayPal account. However hacked PayPal accounts will not want items sent to this address, and will provide an address not associated with the card on record, and this is an unconfirmed address. Of course not all requests to send to an unconfirmed address means a PayPal account has been compromised, but sellers should be wary of this and proceed with caution.
- More than the asking price? Is the buyer openly willing to pay more than the asking price to get it shipped to an unconfirmed address?
- Quick shipment? Is the buyer trying to rush the seller into sending the item? They may be trying to rush it because PayPal payments can take time to clear, and if they are from compromised PayPal accounts, then it is only a matter of time before the breach is reported by the original owner. Because of this, scammers will try and rush the shipment.
- Confirmation Emails. A ploy that scammers will use to trick the seller into sending an item to early is to send fake confirmation emails from PayPal claiming the transfer is complete and the item can be shipped. When you receive the confirmation email, check the senders address and make sure the domain (after the @ symbol) contains the PayPal name, and not a free web based email name like gMail.
Overall -
Don’t do business with people you can’t meet. The whole point of selling and buying through CraigsList and other local sites is that they are indeed local. If you want your items to be sold to a larger audience use sites like EBay that offer more seller/buyer protection. Watch out for bad grammar as many scams originate from non-English speaking countries. Always do your due diligence and remember that if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.These scams tend to be initiated as a result of a victim posting or responding on CraigsList or similar local sites, but remember that these scams can be initiated various ways that have nothing to do with ad sites, and can even be started through unsolicited mail.
If you know of any other prolific scams going on, on sites like CraigsList, contact us and let us know!
| robert Says: |
| yeah.. |
| 11/10/09 |
