Don’t Get Scammed, Robbed on Craigslist

In addition to fraud being enabled by Craigslist, it is also important to play it safe.

The man in this video was robbed, but walking into an unknown situation can land you in a much worst position. The story details his experience and where he went wrong.

How to Avoid Scams: Sale Ads

As a continuation of my compilation of tips to avoid fraud, here are some things to look for when looking at advertisements in the sale sections. Sale ads are typically easier to distinguish whether they are fraudulent or not. AnswerBag.com has a lists of steps to take to avoid being had:

• “Step 1: Scan each ad for local contact information. According to Craigslist, if you avoid transactions that involve a seller located out of town or out of the country whom you can’t meet in person, you will avoid most scams.
• “Step 2: Do not wire money through services such as Western Union or MoneyGram. While these services are perfectly reputable, you are giving money directly to someone with no guarantee of services rendered. This is a popular technique used in scams.
• “Step 3: Beware of fraudulent money orders and checks. Scammers often use these in transactions, who know your bank will hold you liable for the funds.
• “Step 4: Watch for ads that claim Craigslist is involved in the transaction of funds. Craigslist never handles payments between customers–any ad claiming as much is a scam.”

For some additional tips and warnings read the entire article: How to Avoid Scams on Craigslist.

How to Avoid Scams: Job Ads

Craigslist is swarming with scammers, although some Craigslist readers may not know the extent to which scammers have really made use of the site. The site is very useful but surfing the site when looking for a job, or house, or car, can be frustrating as users must sift through the masses of ads and then judge what they think may be legitimate or not.

As the first of a three-part series on how to distinguish legitimate offers from scams in the Craigslist postings, I have complied some points on reading ads when looking on Craigslist for a particular purpose. I will specifically cover job ads, sales ads, and housing ads.

Here are some things to look for when looking at advertisements in the job sections.

• Look for a company name primarily. If this is not listed, have a good idea what you’re looking at is a scam.
• Contact information can be a good indicator that an ad is legitimate, but if a phone number is listed just Google it to make sure it is what they say it is. Email addresses may seem legitimate, but consider how easy it is to register any name of your choosing before sending your resume.
• A job description will also tell you a lot. An specific job ad is something a legitimate employer will think to list. If the ad lacks to tell you about the job, or even a title or description, this may be a scam.
• If the ad tells you to send a resume for information, don’t.
• If the ad gives you information about working from home, it is a scam.
• If the ad asks you for a credit card for a processing fee, of for any reason, this is a scam.
• If the ad entails some story about how the business moved, or “expanded” from another state, be very weary.
• Watch out for ads that use subjective words to describe anything about their company or the job. Words like “excellent,” “best,” “most,” amazing,” etcetera.
• Avoid links at all cost. This is a great way to find a nasty virus or pick up tracking cookies and Trojans. Any ad that seems legitimate but the link keeps sending you to different pages is probably just a very good scam.
• Use caution when the compensation lines says something along the lines of “open” or experience requirement says something like “no experience necessary”. Also watch out for jobs that say something like “make around so-and-so amount.”
• Look for illogical reasoning. A job that requires little to no experience or training will almost never pay well.
• Anything that asks you to make an investment or to work of leads is probably on the scam side.
• Also, play it safe and avoid giving out your resume until you have actually had some sensory contact with a representitive, i.e. not until you have talked on the phone or have met in person.

Raptor Program Seeks Donations for Craigslisting

The Rocky Mountian Raptor Program helps over 250 birds annually.

According to the Denver Post’s Out There section recent cattle calls for donations of spare game for rehabilitation and care of injured “bird of prey” were so wildly sucessfull that they are now requesting monetary donations in the name of a new commercial freezer, which they plan to buy off of Craigslist.

Donate spare game meat or money to the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program:

2519 S. Shields St., No. 115, Fort Collins, CO 80526

970-484-7756

rmrp.org

Interesting Transvestite Misses Connection

One of the most interesting missed connections this side of the Mississippi.

A poster who wrote to note the attention paid to an impressive transvestite he saw at a vocing center.

“I’ll file this under m4w as a compliment to your cross-dressing skills. Our paths crossed when you went to the voting center a few weeks back, presumably to vote.”

Wiki and Craigslist Connected

Maybe you have noticed the small, blue “w” behind the “fort collins/ north CO” page header. Craigslist recently incorporated this into all their sites.

“W” stands for Wikipedia. Click the “w” to get the “wiki” entry on what or where ever it is you are clicking. In this case, a wiki of Fort Collins.

Craigslist Prostitution Crackdown Locally Minimal

Prostitution crackdown on CL

Although Fort Collins is not expected to be greatly effected, Craigslist is making some efforts to crack down on poster who use the site to advertise for prostitution services.

“Craigslist Thursday reached an agreement with law enforcement in 40 states, including Colorado, to require anyone who posts an “erotic services” ad to provide a working phone number and pay a fee with a valid credit card.

“The Web site will provide that information to law enforcement if subpoenaed.

“‘We don’t actively go into Craigslist looking to see if there are ads that we need to investigate,’ said Fort Collins police Sgt. Russell Reed with the Crimes Against Persons Unit. ‘It’s a nominal issue for us because we probably only work one or two cases a year related to prostitution.’”

Read the entire article online at the Coloradoan’s website.

Off Week

I will not concern myself with flagging for at least one full year after this last month!

Sorry, it has been an off week for me. I have had much to do with my “day” job, elections drawing to an end and with midterms hitting hard at school.

Elections gave me reason to effectivly maintain four hours of sleep per night, and a big project i have been working on about local flagging sucked up any other free time I had.

I worked hard on it, but since it is a bit outside of my expertise (and software holdings) it is a bit on the raw side. Nonetheless, savor it like sushi and I am excited about all the awesome new posts that will be!

Audio package about local flaggers.

Drunks Fuel Lost and Founds

Every time there is a good reason to drink ungodly amounts of liquor, the Lost and Found community ad section flourishes like a desert scene after the rain.

While the section will typically host ads galore for lost pets (particularly cats), large quantities of listed lost items are more often in direct correlation to an event such as Halloween.

This weekend preludes the unacknowledged abandonment, or the unanticipated find, of three sets of key, two phones, a camera, a flash drive, a bike, and a coat.

And those are just the tangable items listed.

Likewise, a bloody Palin, Alice in Wonderland, a Gangster Gal, Edward Norton (or at least someone who looked like him), and a delhi guy.

Were there streets covered in the lost moments and belongings that people insist on carrying with them while they impair the Hippocampus?