How to Avoid Scams on Craigslist

Steps

1. Search and browse within your own city or state limits. This will give you and the seller the opportunity to meet in person.
2. Try all attempts to exchange in person instead of mailing money. Unlike E-Bay, Craigslist is not responsible of transaction mishaps. This means, if you send money to someone, you can't report it to Craigslist if you don't receive the item that you were going for. Any reference to Craigslist that says "buyer protection" or "certified seller" is bogus.
3. Insist on cash. Fake checks and money orders are common, and banks will hold you - not the seller - responsible. Never wire money to anyone under any circumstances. Most payments made by wire transfer are fraudulent.
4. Prioritize posts with pictures than text only posts. If you are interested with a non-image post or would like more details, contact the poster but do not make any offers until you are fully satisfied. If they don't get back to you, look for something else.
5. Have some knowledge of what the item's average price is. This is more common for renting an apartment or buying a car over Craigslist. If you're not sure, browse through newspaper classifieds, other Craigslist posts, use the Kelley Blue Book for vehicles, or ask friends for a reasonable price range for that specific item.

Tips

• A serious seller will leave some kind of content information, for example, a phone number, name, or email address. If they request that you reply to their Craigslist's reference email, don't bother. It means that they're too lazy, don't care as much, or not serious about selling the item.
• Don't take the first interesting item as priority; jot it down and browse around.
• If you don't find anything in your taste, wait until the next day or use another source.
• If it's too good to be true, then it probably is.
• Information such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers and other similar numbers should not be given out unless the individual is positive who will be receiving the information and that it is being transmitted over a secure server. This is important because this information can be used for identity theft or other fraudulent purposes.

Warnings

• When renting an apartment or house, be aware that it is illegal for a landlord to enforce anything above the first month's rent for the security deposit. So if an apartment is going for $1,500 and the first month's rent is higher than that - it's a scam.

Related wikiHows

• How to Post Ads to Craigslist
• How to Avoid Getting Scammed on eBay
• How to Spot eBay Automobile and Computer Scams

Sources and Citations

• Wired Magazine - Original source of this article. Shared with permission.
• *Craigslist Scams and Frauds

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