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Avoid Craigslist and eBay Scams
Posted by Kevin Purdy at 12:30 AM on October 12, 2007
Wired's How To WIki offers a few tips on how to avoid getting scammed on Craigslist from founder Craig Newmark himself. Key piece of advice: try to deal only with people you can have a face-to-face with.
If this is not possible, try and get a physical address from them. If the seller sends you a name and address to send payment to, look it up on a White Pages service, such as Yahoo! People Search. If the name and address matches a listing in the White Pages, that's a pretty good start.The wiki page also includes excerpts from Wired's How To Use eBay page with similar advice.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
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fryck
Posted 1:18 PM 11/10/07
I think that this may have been a good tip a few years back, however I do not think that this is as practical in today's day and age when most people have traded landlines for cell phones.
When I do a transaction on CL, I always meet face to face, but it is nearly impossible to do all eBay sales in person. Hell, there are some real wackjobs on eBay. I would not give them my address.
fryck
mguentz
Posted 11:57 AM 11/10/07
The catch? The name/address I provide them is the regional FBI office to the attention of the Special Agent in charge of the office.
Hilarious! I wonder if that works.
Good article!
mguentz
heavylee-again
Posted 11:04 AM 11/10/07
I buy and sell often on CL. By this point, I have gotten pretty good at spotting scams at the first email. In my ads, I always make it clear that I only transact in person, but some people still don't get it.
To entertain myself, I've begun toying with scammers. When I receive an email asking if I'd ship them the product and they'll pay with a wire transfer or a cashier's check/money order (which is 99% of the time a sign of a scam), I agree and ask them to send their funds to the name/address I provide. The catch? The name/address I provide them is the regional FBI office to the attention of the Special Agent in charge of the office.
heavylee-again