Craigslist has been a phenomenon for buying and selling items on the Internet. Although, with most of these types of websites there are thieves lurking around looking at ways to scam you out of your property or using fraud to obtain your money. Therefore, we warn Craigslist users to use caution, as residents have discovered.
Recently, a resident located an ad on Craigslist for a vehicle for sale. The resident agreed to purchase the vehicle without actually seeing the vehicle in person or meeting the seller. The resident sent money to the seller (scammer) via a money transfer service. The resident never received the vehicle.
Remember, photos of actual vehicles for sale can be stolen by simply doing cut or paste on a photo and then creating an ad with all fraudulent seller information.
You can also be a victim of fraud if you are the seller and are posting your vehicle for sale on line. For example, you post your vehicle for sale and you receive an email or text response from someone who wants to purchase your vehicle. The buyer (scammer) tells you he or she will be sending you money for the car, a little extra money for inconveniences and some money to pay the transport company.
Within a week, you will receive a check in the mail. The check usually comes in a United States Postal Priority or Express envelope. The scammer instructs you to deposit the check into your bank account and then wire or deposit a certain portion of the money into a bank account for the transport company.
The transport company never comes to get the vehicle and the check you received from the scammer is stolen account information. The check will be returned and you will be held accountable to repay your financial institution. Keep in mind even if it is a cashier’s check from a bank, it too could be stolen account information.
The majority of Craigslist users are trustworthy and well intentioned, although scams and thieves still exist. Therefore, it is important to exercise caution when buying from Craigslist or any website. It is very important to take the same common sense precautions online as you would offline. We offer the following tips:
• If you cannot see the item for sale, drive it and touch it or meet the seller in person, you should not buy the item.
• When you receive a text message or email from the buyer or seller look for spelling or grammar errors (Some scams originate from other countries)
• Do your research – Use a search engine like Google and put in the buyer or sellers email address or phone number. You may find the person has tried the same scam numerous times.
• Look for car postings that include the seller's personal story. Some car scams will provide personal details about their situation or why the car is being sold for a low price; such as divorce, military deportment or relocation, or the death of a family member.
• If you receive a USPS envelope, check the tracking number to see where it originated from using USPS.com. Make sure the location where the buyer or seller lives matches where the envelope was mailed from.
• Ask your financial institution to call on the check you received to verify it is a good, before you deposit it.
• Do not purchase reloadable cards and read the numbers on the back of the card to someone over the phone.
• If the posting originates from another country, the seller will most likely mention shipping methods for the car and will offer to take care of any associated shipping charges.
• Refrain from giving out your personal financial information; such as your bank account and routing numbers, PayPal information, and Social Security Number.
• Ask the Craigslist seller if they can send you additional photos of the car. If they can't provide additional photos, or if they make excuses regarding not having physical access to the car, it may be a scam.
• Visit the links of photos that lead to image- or photo-hosting websites. Some websites will display the number of times the photo has been viewed. If the photo has been viewed excessively, the seller may be recycling the photo or trying to scam other Craigslist users.
• Trust your instincts, if it’s too good to be true it probably is
We can’t stop these scam crimes alone and need your assistance to help educate. Remember, SCAMS stop with YOU.
To file a complaint visit the Federal Trade Commission at: FTC.gov
you can also file a complaint online with the FBI at IC3.gov
If you come across a fraud scam please let us know about it by calling The Thousand Oaks Police Fraud Hotline at (805) 371-8327.
If you are a victim of fraud and have suffered a monetary loss, please call our patrol dispatch center at (805) 654-9511 to have a deputy respond and take a report.
