craigslist Warning

As many of you may know, craigslist is an online classified ad where you can search for job opportunities, sell used refrigerators, promote special events along with many other items that might be of public interest. craigslist is easy to use to reach a large audience, there is no cost for running an ad and the company that maintains the site does not police the content. As a result, this online resource is also attractive to scam artists for these very same reasons.

Keeping this precaution in mind, please be wary when responding to any ads that are posted on craigslist. They may be legitimate offers; they may not. The same rules apply to these ads as they do to e-mails, text messages, phone calls, etc. that you receive.

We recently became aware of an incident where someone responded to a job ad on craigslist and ended up receiving a check for $1,999.99 in the mail! Guess what - the check turned out to be fraudulent! And, in another situation, an individual responded to a job ad on craigslist which directed them to go to a recruiter’s website. A form with the person’s name, address, phone #, etc. was completed to express interest in the available position. The individual was contacted to set-up a phone interview and they were sent a package in preparation for this call. The package turned out to be a brochure on rolling over an IRA and the phone “interview” was to discuss investment options! Career opportunities were never even brought up during the phone conversation!

So, if you go on craigslist, be ever watchful of what is requested of you when you respond to an ad. Only provide contact information; not confidential information such as your social security number, credit card number, etc.

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