Buying/Selling Safely on Craigslist

Bookmark It:    

I’d like to preface this post by letting you all know that I am not posting this because of the recent rash of issues surrounding a Craigslist thief, the roommate scammer or any number of other “Craigslist Scam Issues.” This is something I covered in my book long before it came to the limelight. After all, Craigslist is an open market – there is no security to protect you and not everyone who uses it deserves your trust.

The people you buy from or sell to on Craigslist, for all intents and purposes, are strangers. They are strangers who often have access to your home or place of business. They know you have goods or funds on you and that you probably want to believe they are a good person. The reality is that people from all walks of life (high and low) use Craigslist.

Your best option is use the advice I have outlined below to protect yourself from unscrupulous people. These tips apply to buying and selling anything online, not just Craigslist:

• Upon the first exchange of e-mails never use your real name. There have been instances in which a person’s identity was assumed once they got detailed info about the seller.

• Do NOT give out your telephone number or address until you are 100% certain this person is worthy of such details about your life.

• Ask for family and professional references if you are purchasing something larger, picking a roommate, buying a car – anything you need to feel like this person is for real.

• Never pay by check – you are giving them your routing number and account number when you do that. It’s becoming the easiest way to get your banking info stolen these days.  Plus sellers will most likely appreciate this. Sellers – never accept checks, period.

• Always meet during the day in a public location or if they must come to your home or place of business, try to keep your exchange outside of the home and have a buddy on hand to ensure your security. Make sure the buyer or seller knows you will be coming with troops – if they plan on scamming you they will think twice.

• Never, ever sign anything unless you have a chance to show it to legal counsel.

At the end of the day these tips will only help you stay out of possible trouble using Craigslist. You need to trust your instincts here. You cannot just assume people are bad or good – let them earn your trust and you will have a positive experience online.

$19.95