I also must state, in my outside voice, that phoenix.craigslist.org…ROCKS! I too have sold some things and purchased things of all sorts. It is a fact that some interesting adventures as well as characters can be had as well as met using phoenix craigslist.
Craigslist.org is now the worlds largest online classifieds. They are actually the worlds most used classifieds ever known. This phenomenon known as craigslist has been around since 1995. Started by a fella named Craig Newmark in the San Francisco Bay area. It now spans approximately 570 cities and
50 countries. Here are a few statistics to better understand the mammoth we know as craigslist.
- 570 cities worldwide
- 50 countries worldwide
- Only 29 Staff Members
- 20 billion page views per month
- 50 million unique visitors per month
- They receive over 1 million new job postings per month
- The theory at craigslist is to give the people a voice, and a sense of community trust.
One of the most popular sites in the world is to be run by the people for the people. They don’t disclose revenue formally, they don’t offer banner advertising or PPC, and only charge for job postings in a select amount of cities. They once explained their drive for maximizing profits as “we have little interest in maximizing profit, instead preferring to help users find cars, apartments, jobs, and dates.” A brilliant strategy that appears to be working on many levels. Although they are tight lipped about finances at craigslist, there are reports of revenues in the $150 million mark in 2007. That’s impressive considering they only take money from roughly 2% of the cities they are in.
With all of this “self governing” it is obvious that some dishonest people are using craigslist to prey on the innocent, who are simply looking for a deal. One person’s trash is another persons treasure and many scam artists know that. Also, considering the site has not been technically upgraded since its inception, poses some safety issues. We have all heard the stories of scam artists, and worse, some more gruesome crimes associated with craigslist. We all know it exists, yet in the spirit of America, we continue to support this site in an attempt to find that one unbelievable deal. The “too good to be true moment.”
After using phoenix craigslist and buying and selling online through eBay I thought I could shed some light on things that I have found to work. Name a few scams and how they work, as well as things to look for, and use to make the craigslist experience a good one. First we can start with Scams. Craigslist does have an entire page on how to handle would-be scammers as well as giving some basics on recognizing craigslist scams. They also give real examples of scams.
Offering to Pay With Cashiers Check
Many times in many situations a person will offer to buy your item, or rent your apartment or house sight unseen. They will claim they are very excited and sometimes will ask you to take the item off of craigslist to ensure they are serious. They will then announce plans to pay by cashiers check, and sometimes claim to have a local buyer that can pick up the item. They tell you they accidentally made the check to large, and would be willing to give you some of the extra money if you would be willing to cash it and send the remaining back. Lets be clear here. The ONLY way to be safe is to deal in CASH and LOCALLY. But we can get to that in a minute. More than likely the account numbers on the check are stolen from somewhere and the check itself is fraudulent. Meaning they probably printed the cashiers check themselves. Although the account number is real, the funds do not belong to the person sending the check. In the end the check will come back as fraud and you will be liable for cashing it. Then the person you sent it to will be nowhere to be found. Not only do you have to pay back all the money, which sometimes is a hefty amount, but also may have criminal charges brought upon you.
Using An Escrow Account
Often when dealing with large transactions like cars or very expensive furniture a common scam develops. Phoenix craigslist is notorious for this one. First, it is likely they will tell you a sob story or claim to be in the military over seas and can not be around to handle the transaction. To sweeten the deal they claim the government is helping them ship the furniture or car for free so you have no shipping costs. To further sweeten the deal they claim they will only use an escrow service to handle the transaction. This is where the scam is. Although using an escrow service such as eBay or escrow.com are often very safe, if you receive a fake email pretending to be them, it is not safe. So basically the scam starts by making a decent report with you as the buyer, by exchanging emails and some personal information. All along insisting on using an escrow account for your safety. After they have gained a little trust they will send you an email link, or page that is similar to the “real” page an escrow service would send you. However, it will not be an official email. It will take your information and send it to another bank account. They can then get you one of two ways, or both. If you send the money to the escrow account using their email or link they sent you, usually the money is instantly gone. They take the money and run because it is not actually being sent to a secure account. Most likely to their personal account of some sort. Secondly, if you don’t send money right away, or the deal falls through, chances are the email or link has a keystroke generator or cookie stealing script that will allow the scammer to get your personal information. This day in age, simply getting one or two passwords is enough to do some serious damage.
A Job Scam
A common job scam uses the front of a foreign company offering “account representative” positions in which they are operating in many different currencies. Therefore, they need someone to help deposit payroll and distribute payments. They will claim they are unable to receive the money directly and ask you to deposit the money, take a huge commission and wire the money to them. Again, any money wiring for craigslist purposes is just asking for trouble.
A Housing Scam
I read about this one, and still, it is astonishing that it works! This is the easiest scam out there. Basically a person will list a house, apartment, or timeshare for rent. They will provide a real address and real information about this particular property. They then demand their money up front. The kicker here is that the actual property does not exist for rent. It only works on people who are not in the same city, and apparently there is an enormous amount of people looking online for rentals in other cities. They take the money, and often “rent” the same property up to 20 times. I read an account where a person put a house, that he had absolutely no affiliation to, for rent online for $1000 a month. Took 1/2 of the rent upfront from 30 people before he left town. That’s $15000 this person scammed. The article went on to say he has done it more than once and the scammer was explaining how easy it was. I would like to add a personal note here. I have rented out a timeshare that I own using Phoenix craigslist. The first person who contacted me sent me 1/2 the rent within the first week of talking to them. basically one email. The only source of reference they had was a website address I placed on the the ad, and the word of someone in a state 12 hours away. It was actually unnerving on my end to witness such trust for someone they don’t know. So I can see how this could work. Just a piece of advice here, looking into and researching things can go along way. And NEVER follow all of the sellers rules, always ask questions and err on the side of caution. This person that rented from me has no idea if I truly own or who I am, or if that is truly my address she sent the money to.
Things To Look For
There are many things to look at in a posted ad on craigslist that might tip you off, or raise some flags. The most important for me is gut feeling. If it suspect it probably is. Trust yourself and your feelings. Second, if its too good to be true it probably is. Here is a list of things I look for when dealing online.
- Spelling is a major issue. Many spam ad generators, and overseas scammers have terrible spelling and grammar.
- Check the information in the ad to have relevant and up to date information. If they are selling a car with pictures. Make sure the backgrounds of the pictures appear to have the landscaping native to the area they are selling from. Example: if selling a car on phoenix craigslist and the background is Victorian houses and weeping willows…..maybe second guess that one.
- Anyone that leaves a phone number or personal information in their ad is usually legit. If they are not afraid to talk to you there is a higher chance of the transaction being real.
- A story that makes sense. Use some logic and avoid anything “free” to sweeten a deal. (i.e. free shipping of anything.)
- Never meet at your own house. Always meet in public place
- Tell a friend or family member what you are doing
- Always have a cell phone along
- Ty to take a friend with you
- If anyone ever asks for your full information. Requesting Name, Address, Phone #, Email etc. Is potentially a scam
- Always remember craigslist has very basic functionality. Virus and spyware can happen. Always Trust your instincts.
Craigslist can be a beautiful thing if handled correctly. Especially the phoenix craigslist. I am officially deeming Phoenix Arizona as the unofficial home of the barter. Unfortunately there will always be someone out there who is willing to prey on the honest. From experience, many great things can be done on craigslist by being fair and understanding fair market value of what you are selling. Remember to always trust your gut feeling and remember the golden rule…..Yes the golden rule you learned in kindergarten. Lastly, the true way to tell if the transaction was a good one, look for an unsolicited fist bump or high five. or any final references such as “sweeeet…pound it” “up top” “yes!…give me some skin” or any sort of dancing…….. That my friends is success!
