Craigslist has been around since 1995, endowed by Craig Newmark in San Francisco. Currently, the company is operating in more than 50 countries and generates annual revenues of around one billion. Craigslist has always been the most commonplace for buying and selling. On this platform, you will get the daily used items that people sell or buy, like second-hand cars or furniture. It’s a semi-trustworthy online platform and has been proven to be a well-established platform for people who are looking for a discount. Its interface is quite simple and easy to navigate so that anyone can use it. Most people don’t realize it, but it’s quite easy for fraudsters to scam innocent people for their money on Craigslist.
Here are some common Craigslist scams you should be familiarized with:
- Credit check for homes, bikes, or any other second-hand vehicles (they do not need a credit check and, usually, this is a way to get your personal records).
- Requesting a money transfer (if the other person is not verified there are high chances that they just get your bank records or could take your money).
- Posting a product that is not for sale or just using other images of the product.
- Using Craigslist posts for multiple same items.
Here a few safety measures you can take to avoid getting scammed on the Craiglist platform.
First, Understand How it Works –
Do the comprehensive check of the website, once you understand a platform better you will be on the safe side. For example, Craiglist is not responsible for any payment.
The website still lacks some features, if the person sends you any kind of link don’t just click it blindly. As you know in the modern era, scams happen all the time. They often post items that are broken or non-functional, enticing you to buy that product. When you buy that product in person, check the item as thoroughly as possible.
Do your research –
You might be researching the items that you want to buy. But have you ever researched about the buyer or the seller? It’s something that many of us forget to do, but when our valuable things are involved, it’s something we need to be aware of. Use any contact detail you’ve got from the buyer or seller and fill it on a website like Nuwber. By accessing publicly available records you will see if they are genuine people or scammers.
Another common scam is the buyer or seller asking to use wire transfers. But a lot of times it happens that either they steal your bank details or money without actually delivering a product. Other times it happens that potential buyers attempt to pay you through a wire transfer and send you fake proof of payment. Or they send you an external PayPal link that is intended to steal your data (never click on those links). Though if you are using a PayPal account, go to your official account or use the original PayPal URL. Another option is just to avoid any kind of online payment and pay in person.
Avoid Potential Crooks –
As we are all aware of modern tech and photo editing things, it is important to identify genuine items and not photoshopped ones. For instance, if the seller is using stock images or any kind of counterfeited images – it is a form of scam. Fraudsters often photoshop product images and sell malfunctioning items. They then encourage you to buy broken goods, not mentioning the actual state of the products. In this situation, you can ask them to meet in person to check if the product is running smoothly and doesn’t have any quality issues. If you are not sure about the stock image, ask the seller to send the new picture of the product to the current newspaper. If they deny, it’s definitely a scam.
Keep your Location Private –
When you put product images for sale, you might think that it’s just a photo, and you haven’t mentioned any other details. For instance, if you are selling a car or a bike that doesn’t give away the location; but make sure that your product images hide the street names. Also if you are using an iPhone photo, remove geotags from it as it gives exact location details of where the photo was taken. Always keep your location private.
Fake Ticket Websites –
For shoppers who like to purchase tickets on Craigslist, scammers have created bogus websites that look the same as the real ones. The problem arises when you want to buy that ticket and enter your credit card details on that fake website. Scammers get your financial details easily.
Use a Craigslist Alternative –
Over the years, many great websites have emerged, ones which are similar to Craiglist and even much more reliable. You can use alternatives like Letgo or Offer Up. If you want to buy from your friends or local users you can use the Facebook marketplace. You can also pick NextDoor, as it verifies all the user addresses.
The Takeaways –
No doubt that Craigslist is the most well-known website for buying and selling things, but it is only partly trusted. And all this is because of the long list of frauds and scammers that are an unswerving threat to inexperienced users. Don’t buy anything if it just looks good or has a low price. Do some research beforehand regarding products and buyers or sellers. Don’t share your personal information or any other credentials with strangers you just met. Inspecting the products in person is important, especially tech things or vehicles, if required test them out and check whether they function smoothly or not. Avoid clicking on external links, doing wire transfers, or doing any kind of online payments, always use official websites.