Experiment: How Craigslist Scams Work

The folks from IDentity Theft 911 have made a clever experiment to show how fraudsters try to earn a profit by fooling unsuspecting Craigslist users.

To demonstrate the “anatomy of a Craigslist scam” they posted an ad to sell a piece of furniture, and soon enough a number of con artists were already showing interest.

As the experts highlight, there are certain details that give away the true identity of a scam. For instance, the crook always gives a positive reply, but he never tries to negotiate, he is always willing to make a purchase without actually seeing the product, he wants it in the shortest amount of time, and finally, he always asks for the possibility to pay via online services.

In other words, fraudsters will in most cases appear as being the perfect customer. But remember, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

You can check out the great slideshow detailing such a scam here.