Full Notification

The following tips and advice were taken from the CraigsList website (http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams) on 27Jun2010:

1. Make every attempt to deal only with people who are within driving distance of you. This especially holds true when a transaction (buying or selling) involves more money than you can afford to lose.

2. Never complete a transaction in which you are asked to send money via wire transfer (Western Union, MoneyGram, etc). Legitimate sellers will not demand payment via wire transfer.

3. The proliferation of high quality printers and sophisticated software has made it easy for scammers to print fake money orders and cashier checks. Before cashing or depositing a money order or cashier check, ask your bank if the instrument can be validated.

4. CraigsList is an online version of the classified ads. CraigsList does not get involved in transactions. If a transaction indicates that CraigsList will handle the payment, guarantee the transaction, provide escrow service, or offer "buyer protection" or "seller certification", then the transaction is being perpetrated by a scammer. CraigsList does not offer any of these services.

5. Never provide any financial or personal information (bank account info, social security number, credit card info, eBay/PayPal credentials, etc). A legitimate seller will never ask for this information.

6. Deals involving shipping or escrow services should be avoided. These types of transactions are favored by scammers because they create a false sense of security for buyers or sellers.