Craiglist can be a good place to find a deal, once in a while.
Craigslist also can be where bad guys shop for people to rob, as much of the trading on Craigslist is done via cash transactions.
Craigslist robberies happen more than you think.
Fortunately, sometimes the bad guys bite off more than they can chew.
Such as a recent case in New York City. Bad guys knew that prospective Craigslist buyers were almost guaranteed to be unarmed and easy pickings for armed robberies.
Unfortunately for one trio of brash bandits, they picked the wrong people to pick on. Sadly, it wasn’t a taxpayer relief shot.
(NY Daily News) – An 18-year-old man was shot when he tried to rob three detectives at gunpoint in Brooklyn on Sunday, according to police sources.
The teen pulled a gun and tried to rob the detectives as the trio investigated a Craigslist rental scam on Monroe St. between Bedford Ave. and Franklin Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant around 7 p.m., the sources said.
One of the detectives identified himself and opened fire, hitting the man in the torso, cops said. He was rushed to Kings County Hospital in stable condition.
Police held a press conference where they said the teen, a 27-year-old man in custody and a third suspect who’s still on the loose were running a scam in which they posted apartment rentals on Craigslist and then robbed prospective tenants who came to look at the nonexistent units.
Initially, the NY Daily News seems to have reported this as a “16-year-old boy” as the robber.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/boy-16-shot-attempting-rob-detectives-cops-article-1.2427708
I quit using CL after I scared off a pair of prowlers after advertising a boat for sale. Too many of the wrong people were inside my garage, there to case the place and not to buy a boat.
The returning prowlers didn’t want any part of Mr. 12 gauge.
D.S.: It took me seeing my son sell his car on that website a few years ago for me to figure out the average Craiglister was white trash. You place an ad, and get all sorts of schmucks and losers and occasionally a decent human being. You get more excuses than sane offers. A couple of people who came by made me feel like I needed a shower after they left. I’ve been recently introduced to the people of walmart. They should put up a sister website: The people of Craigslist.
And then there’s the Nigerian scammers who want to send you a check and have you send them the difference.
Since then, I’ve given stuff away just to keep from dealing with CL scum and having them anywhere near my house.