Flag Listings Directly on Craigslist or via Email Reply If you're communicating with a Craigslist user and suspect they're a scammer, you can flag their listing directly on Craigslist or their email reply from the email message you receive. To flag a listing, select the flag icon at the top of the page.
Craigslist does not back any transaction on its site. If you receive an email or text trying to sell you purchase protection, you're looking at a scam. There is no such thing as a Craigslist voicemail service. If a contact asks you to access or check your “Craigslist voicemails,” you're dealing with a scammer.
Don't believe everything you hear. Scammers are now responding to ads but tricking sellers into thinking they are busy at work and can't talk until later. Instead of leaving you with a contact number, they request you enter your phone number into a website that “stores information” for them. Don't fall for it!
If you're a victim of a Craigslist scam, you may want to get in touch with your local police department. It can pursue criminal charges and possibly help you recover any money or items that were stolen.
Be familiar with Craigslist
Scammers often create lookalike sites to lure buyers into paying for items that don't exist. Always confirm the URL before finalizing a purchase. Craigslist does not back any transaction on its site. If you're offered purchase protection at a price, you're looking at a scam.
If you live in an apartment, give your address but not your apartment number and meet the buyer outside first. (If you live in a house, you can meet them outside anyway.) In the event that you meet them and they're making you very uncomfortable, send them on your way and go back inside.
If someone steals your phone number, they become you — for all intents and purposes. With your phone number, a hacker can start hijacking your accounts one by one by having a password reset sent to your phone. They can trick automated systems — like your bank — into thinking they're you when you call customer service.
Scammers can also use your phone number to send you malicious text messages. This type of scam is called “smishing,” according to Ray Wallsh, digital privacy expert at ProPrivacy.
Know what to look for
In fact, some people make a game of getting even with or even getting ahead of the scammers by carrying out what's known as "scambaiting."
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Follow these simple rules:
Ideally with your name and address, they would probably send you mail that attempts to scam you. For example, they might send you a check but will require you to do something in order to receive that money. If this scammer is very sophisticated they can get your life's story with that information alone.
Follow Craigslist's recommendations about safe transactions to avoid scams and secure a payment from an honest buyer.
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