Consumerist
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caveat crimen
Watch Out Criminals: That Craigslist "Customer" Might Be The Police
The Chicago Sun-Times says that three men have been charged with "stealing cash and property at gunpoint from victims thinking they were meeting to buy televisions and other electronics advertised on Craigslist." The suspects were arrested after police saw "suspicious" postings on Craigslist and contacted the sellers posing as an interested customer. More » -
observations
Craig Newmark's Two Observations From 14 Years Of Customer Service
Craig Newmark, of craigslist.org, offers the following two observations from fourteen years of customer service: More » -
yelp
Make $20-$40 A Pop Shilling On Yelp
Did you know that you can earn $20-$40 at time just for lying? According to this Craigslist ad, a New York business owner desperate for positive reviews on Yelp, an online yellow pages couples with user reviews, is shelling out for shills. More » -
funny
Will Anyone Buy My 1300 Chinese Pope Hats?
One of the fun side-effects of Craigslist is that the lack of an editorial gatekeeper means it lets the crazy blossom. The newspaper Telegraph has assembled 20 of what they consider the wackiest Craigslist ads, including over 1300 Pope hats (sorry, they're just replicas), diapers for incontinent dogs, and 300 stuffed penguins. Naturally we assume every one of them is really about sex, but maybe we're being too jaded about Craigslisters. More » -
warnings
Beware Fake Gift Card Balance Websites
A reader just ran into a gift card scam while trying to unload an Apple gift card via CraigsList. If you're directed to a website that asks you to put in your gift card information in order to show the balance as "proof" that you're legit, you're being conned. More » -
alerts
AloofDoof Sends Alerts When Ads You Like Appear On Craigslist
Reader Sedo just sent us a link to aloofdoof.com, a website that lets you set up keyword searches on Craiglist. We haven't tested it, but it appears to be similar to WishRadar for Amazon. Sedo writes, More » -
pay-per call
Beware Pay-Per-Call Phone Scams
Scammers on Craigslist are ordering tough-to-identify pay-per-call phone numbers, then list them on ads, baiting people to call and pay exorbitant fees. Common area codes for pay lines are 976, 940, 915, 556, 554, and 550. More » -
scams
Chicago Man Sells TVs On Craigslist For Funny Money
Andre Callegari of Chicago unloaded some TVs on Craigslist, but got a wad of counterfeit cash in return. Then he set up another sale with the buyer in a sting operation, and the seller actually came back, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The cops caught the bad guy, who paid Callegari some of what he owed him, but that's probably all the victim thinks he'll recover. More » -
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not-so-free trials
Free Trials Can Be Trojan Horses For Sketchy Companies
"Free" is always an enticing proposition, but free trials that seem too good to be true often are. Conmen use such offers to lure in greedy customers hoping to get something for nothing. More » -
scams
Stay Away From The Nigerian Tutoring Scam
Are you a student looking for a summer or long-term tutoring gig? Be sure to stay away from the foreign tutoring scam, especially if you're looking for work on Craigslist. More » -
ask the consumerists
Would You Buy An iPhone That Fell In Urine?
Our ex-stepbrothers at Gizmodo found a craigslist ad for a barely used iPhone, selling for significantly below list price. There's just one problem. More » -
craigslist
"Help, I Fell For The Apartment Rental Credit Check Scam!"
Since posting an article about Craiglist apartment listing scams a month ago, we've heard from lots of people who fell for the scam. If you're one of them, here's what you need to know. More » -
bizarre
Car Ad On Craigslist Has Hidden Paragraph On Hitler
Our commenter Zorantor discovered a weird, uh, can you call this an Easter egg?, buried at the bottom of a Craigslist post last night:
More »I was poking around craigslist tonight, to see if I could find a gift for a friend of mine who's interested in World War II. I didn't find much that caught my eye. That is, until I tried searching "Hitler."
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videos
"Homeboy Hookup" Scammer Rips Off Renters
Apartment scams are the new hotness. Can't do housing scams anymore because no one can afford a house, so it's on to rentals. Insert "Merce," a guy is ripping off renters saying he's got the "homeboy hookup" and can get them into a rental cheap and with free gas an electricity, but he doesn't actually own the properties. Fox NY investigates in this video. More » -
infestations
Craigslist-Bought PS2 Doubles As Roach Motel
Posting on a Gametrailers Forum, gamer VictoriousOne tells a horror story of buying a PS2 on Craigslist, played it for weeks until it broke, then opened it up to find a bunch of roaches inside. More » -
prostitution
Craigslist Will Drop "Erotic Services" Section
Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal has announced that Craigslist will be dropping its controversial "erotic services" section, and will replace it with a moderated "adult" category. More » -
scams
Neighbor Gives Away Couple's Possessions On Craigslist Without Their Permission
It's every Freecycle moderator's nightmare. A family in the Dallas/Fort Worth suburb of Mansfield woke up to discover men with a truck packing up their portable basketball hoop...which they weren't giving away. It had been listed on the "free" section of Craigslist by their neighbor...a police officer in a nearby town. More » -
craigslist
Scammers Advertise Fake Apartments, Want Your Real Credit Information
UPDATE:If you're a victim of this scam, read this article to learn what to do next.
My friend Amanda is looking for a new apartment, and last week she responded to an appealing ad on Craigslist. There was no apartment, though...just a credit report scam that's showing up in more and more cities. More »
craigslist
New York, 9:53 AM
Sat Nov 21
26 posts in the last 24 hours
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