Craigslist is, up to this day, the place to go for many employers and regular people looking for local events. Even founder Craig Newmark, however, couldn’t have predicted that his creation will turn into a platform that people with malicious intent could take advantage of. Indeed, this is a site, unlike any other web space where online services are advertised. This introduces an element of uncertainty to the whole thing because it’s hard for users to identify until the very last moment whether they are dealing with a legit seller and whether the product they paid for will be of any use. We studied this beast called Craigslist for a while now and assembled a list of 7 things you had better look out for whenever you’re considering making a deal there. Here’s what we came up with.
1. Fake Tickets
Thought a staple ingredient of this service, shopping for tickets is not always safe on Craigslist. If you weren’t aware of this, we hate to break it to you, but ticket scams are commonplace on platforms of such a big scale. The most treacherous of the criminals operating in this space are known for their ability to artfully disguise expired tickets as valid and even replicate watermarks and genuinity stamps. This could substantially complicate things for the average scalper looking to lock in a quick profit. After all, not everyone can afford to consult an illustrious authenticity expert every time they want to go to an Iron Maiden concert. In order to stay on the safe side, don’t rely on Craigslist for airplane and concert tickets. You’d rather want to use the help of an official agency or site to buy those.
2. Fake Cashier Checks
A typical setup for this type of scam is an email with an offer from a buyer eager to pay for your services. You’ll be able to tell there’s something fishy about that offer, by the fact that the buyer won’t show any interest in checking what they are paying for (see or test the product first-hand) prior to sending the payment. Then, they go on to push a cashier’s check (which is fake) as a deposit. The deal with that cashier’s check is that it will be of much higher value than the price you two have agreed upon initially. As the next step of the devious plan, the criminal will ask you to cash in the check and send the excess money back to them. Should you agree to do this and try to cash in the fake check, you’ll be in a world of trouble because of how banks proceed in situations like this. Once the bank sniffs that the check is fake, they’ll hold you accountable for what seems to be an attempt for stealing money from them. Meanwhile, the money you tried to send over to the ‘buyer’ will be subtracted from your own bank account and will be long gone before you manage to explain everything that happened.
3. Double Check if You’re Actually on Craigslist
One of the best ways to reduce your risk online is to use only reputable websites when searching, comparing, or making payments. Scam victims often end up on cloned pages or unverified third-party platforms that look convincing at first glance but exist only to collect money or personal data. Before trusting any site, check that it uses HTTPS, displays real contact information, has transparent policies, and is backed by independent reviews. This matters not only on marketplaces like Craigslist, but also in other high-risk online spaces where users need trustworthy review websites to separate legitimate services from scams. For example, players looking for safe online casinos in Canada reviewed can benefit from reliable review sources that highlight licensed operators, transparent terms, and secure payment options. Sticking to established, well-reviewed platforms can help you avoid phishing pages, payment fraud, and identity theft.
You know how it goes – a company rises to fame and before long imposters start to appear. The case with Craigslist is no different, that’s why you need to be extra careful when you access the site through a search engine. There’s even more room for error when you try to enter the correct URL directly. Remember that the domain is https://www.craigslist.org. So, what happens if you get it wrong you may ask? Most of the sites pretending to be the real thing are mere advertising platforms that will spam you with flashy ads, but some are outright phishing scams.
The advent of the internet has made possible for everyone and anyone to create their own website. This is why you should be extremely careful when initiating a payment or filling in blank fields with personal information. As a rule of thumb, always check the domain you’re on, and look for the green (secure http) URL tab. This is the norm for online platforms handling money and sensible information. Here’s what the internet security experts Kaspersky Lab have to say about phishing.
4. Fake Escrow Scheme
First of all, this could work both ways, irrespective of whether the target is in the position of a buyer or seller. After you’re contacted buy a potential buyer/seller with regards to a particular offer, they will insist on finalizing the deal over an escrow site of their choosing. Here’s what happens if you choose to go down that path:
- The fake escrow site notifies the seller that the money has been credited to their account.
- The seller is fooled into thinking that everything is going as expected and they send the goods to the buyer
- The goods are lost beyond retrieval and no money is received whatsoever.
You can counteract the cunning plan by taking precautions before committing any money or goods. If you’re not familiar with the service you’re pointed to, try to get in touch with customer support by phone. The chances are, the site will not even contain any contact information, or, at the very least, it will be blatantly fake. Alternatively, you can spend some time exploring the features of the page. You’ll be surprised how big of a clue about the legitimacy of a site can its design be. Another thing is the wording. For instance, a big red flag is when the word ‘safe’ or ‘100%’ are highlighted in every single section of the website.
5. Job Offer Related to Money Management and Payments
The way victims get hooked on this sort of fraud is by coming across an eye-catching job offer or via a direct proposal sent over email. The Craigslist user gets contacted in an unsolicited manner with a proposal that sounds too good to be true. The specific scheme we’re going to reveal involves an allegedly open position in a foreign company that, for some reason, is unable to receive payments directly from its customers. This is where you come in, the talented and trustworthy prospect with a deep desire to work from home. As part of the job description, you’ll be required to process payments in exchange of a juicy commission. But this is only as far as the data from the documented cases can take us. There’s a high chance that the criminals have smartened up their act. By and large, we advise you to write off as dodgy, all work-from-home job offers posted on Craigslist by unknown foreign companies.
6. Fake PayPal Email
A large portion of the fraudsters on Craigslist, don’t shy away from sending fake confirmation emails on behalf of big payment companies such as PayPal, stating that a successful payment has been made. Other scammers don’t even bother sending fake emails, They only promise to hold their end of the deal but never follow through with the actual payment. To minimize your chances of being scammed by such individuals, look out for the ‘victim narrative’ in their story, bad spelling, abnormal enthusiasm, and other signs of that sort. If for some reason, you receive an unexpected email from PayPal stating that money has been transferred over, you should look out for two things. If the email doesn’t address you according to the formal letter norms, you can write it off as scam. Another dead giveaway is when the email states that money is being held until you complete a payment.
7. Non-Local Advertisements
By and large, it’s not a good idea to enter negotiations with posters of non-local ads because that means you won’t get the chance to interact in person. On the other hand, this means that at some point a third-party will come into play – usually an online payment service. As we explained earlier, this gives scammers the upper hand, if we assume that you’re dealing with such individual and agree to follow their instructions. Secondly, non-local interactions are not what Craigslist was designed for. For your personal and financial safety, you should deal only with users that are within easy reach. Nonetheless, you should be extremely cautious when meeting any Craigslist customer face to face.
How to Avoid Scams on Craigslist? – Advice from the Company
In summary, there are the general guidelines you should stick to if you want to keep using Craigslist and stay out of trouble. Those are not universal rules but ones that are specifically tailored to the nature of the platform. We are sure that if you align yourself with these criteria, you’ll stand a better chance of having a wholesome and safe user experience. Let’s take a look at the top recommendations.
- Keep your eyes peeled for knockoffs – there are many sites imitators of Craigslist.
- Abstain from Using Wire Transfers and Money Orders
- Avoid escrow services – better safe than sorry
- Contact only local sellers. Buyers should follow the same rule
- Don’t pay before seeing the goods first-hand. Similarly, be wary of people who are eager to buy without inspecting the purchase first
- Keep away from ‘work from home’ job offers, they are almost surely a scam
Craigslist – Source of Violent Crimes?
While we just learned that hoax offers are rife on Craigslist, there’s an even more worrying statistic suggesting that criminals are targeting users of the platform. Ever since the reach of the site has expanded to operation on a worldwide scale, there have been reported cases of users becoming victims of violent crime. An estimated 1% of interactions via the platform have ended up being a criminal case. We leave it up to you to decide whether it’s safe to take your chances and meet your client, or seller for that matter, in person. We are here to inform you of the possibility that the person you might be dealing with on Craigslist might not show their true intentions right away. That’s why you need to stay alert and perform background checks of hiring companies and individuals where possible. So, stay vigilant and remember that there are far worse things than financial loss that could incur as a result of your misjudgement.