Investigations Archives

Craigs List Fraud & Scams

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock you have heard of Craigslist.

Craigslist is a great resource for selling things, finding apartments and jobs, locating services and meeting people. Most of the time transactions go smoothly and both seller and buyer are satisfied with the Craigslist experience.

But lately more and more people are being scammed on Craigslist losing money and, in worst case scenarios, putting themselves in danger.

To help keep yourself safe from scams, Craigslist advises that any business dealings be done with people in your own local area. Don’t do business with folks who live far away. Also look for listings with poor grammar and misspelled words. Beware of anyone offering more than what you asked for. Why would someone do that? Especially since Craigslist is known as the place to go for good deals.

Below are some of the most common Craigslist scams and how can you avoid them.

1) Nigerian or Foreign Country Scams

If you receive an email with very specific criteria…it’s more than likely a scam. Most will offer more than your selling price if you accept their check or money order. And if the buyer or seller tries to pay you with a money order or wire transfer — take that as a big, waving red flag.

Scammers over the years have developed pretty sophisticated-looking fake packing slips or even money orders claiming to be from trusted institutions like Western Union. Often, these scams are part of a Nigerian 419 scam, and could entice you to send the buyer your goods before the fake check or money order clears. To avoid getting duped, don’t accept money orders on Craigslist and, if you must use a check, make sure it clears before sending what was bought.

2) Fake or Cancelled Tickets

Ticket scams are among the more common scams on Craigslist. My husband was actually a victim of this. Savvy scammers have been able to make fake tickets that look real to big events like concerts or sports games. According to WiseBread.com, some scammers have even replicated holograms and watermarks on tickets for concerts or events — and these tickets are either fake or already cancelled – setting you up for a big disappointment. To avoid the headache, only go through reputable sites like Ticketmaster or the actual venue.

3) Non-Local Ads

In general, whenever an ad is not local, it’s generally not a good idea to pursue it. If someone posts a non-local ad they usually won’t be able to meet up with you and will often require transferring money through some online platform (which is a red flag!).

While there are certainly some precautions that should be taken when actually meeting and conducting a transaction in person (such as meeting in a public place or bringing a friend with you), some people that are unable to meet in person (or refuse to) could be scammers on the site.

4) Fake Craigslist Site

Yes, you can accidentally land on a fake Craigslist site. Scammers often use similar domain names in hopes of snagging internet searches from the real Craigslist site and convincing users to trust the fake ones. Some of these sites look very realistic and could cost you a lot of money. Rule of thumb: if any Craigslist site does not have the address http://www.craigslist.org, it’s fake.

5) Scam Email from PayPal

Some scammers may use PayPal (or the promise of PayPal) to send or receive money on Craigslist. PayPal actually warns people to be wary of ads that want to use the site for transactions because many of them may never follow through or send you a fake PayPal email confirmation of a payment. Warning signs include emails that don’t address you by your full name or a statement that money is being held until you perform some action (like sending money through another wire service or using links to tracking orders).

6) Lured to a Mugging

This is a really nasty scam, and we could all fall for it quite easily. It’s also known as “robbery by appointment.” As a Craigslist seller, you will know that cash reigns supreme. You don’t want to deal with bounced checks. Craigslist scammers will place an ad for something like a car, high-end electronics, or another product of significant value. So you arrange to meet the seller (with a large amount of cash), and that’s when you’ll be jumped and the money taken from you. This “lure” scenario has happened many times over the years, which is why Craigslist advises you to meet in a safe, secure location, go with a friend (or two), and if in doubt, back out.

If you happen to see something on Craigslist that looks fishy, send an email to [email protected] and give them as much detail as you can about the listing. Make sure you include URL (or 8 digit post ID number) in your email. If you’re selling something and you think a con artist has expressed interest, forward it to [email protected]. Be smart, be aware and if in doubt ask your friends or someone with internet savvy what they think if something just doesn’t seem right. If it sounds too good to be true, it usuall

Think Your Data Is Private Because You’re Not on Social Media? Think Again.

Just because you’re not on Facebook or Twitter doesn’t mean your data is safe from social media or their clever algorithms. In two different studies, researchers found evidence that your privacy is no longer in your hands, even if you abstain from social media.

The studies, conducted at the University of Vermont and the University of Adelaide, found that they could predict a person’s posts on social media with 95% accuracy, even if they never had an account to begin with. The scientists got all the information they needed from a person’s friends, using posts from fewer than 10 contacts to build a mirror image of a person not even on the social network.

The study, published Monday in the journal Nature Human Behavior, looked at more than 30 million public posts on Twitter (excluding retweets) from a total of 13,905 English-language users (attempting to eliminate bots and non-personal accounts) to populate their model. By using data provided by just 8 or 9 of a user’s contacts, the researchers were able to show that the tweets of friends allowed them to predict quite a bit about the original user. The original user’s Tweets allowed them to predict future tweets with an accuracy rate of roughly 64% and the user’s contacts gave them enough data to predict behavior with an accuracy rate of 61%. So, go ahead and delete your account, but information about you is still going to be generated (and pretty accurately) if you have a close relationship with at least 8 people who use the platform.

This analysis showed that “information within the Twitter messages from 8 or 9 of a person’s contacts make it possible to predict that person’s later tweets as accurately as if they were looking directly at that person’s own Twitter feed.”

“You alone don’t control your privacy on social media platforms,” University of Vermont professor Jim Bagrow said in a statement. “Your friends have a say too.” And even when you delete your social media accounts, if your friends are still there, tech giants are able to build profiles on you. This is already a concern that privacy advocates have about Facebook, called “shadow profiles.”

Now, there is a mathematical upper limit on how much predictive information a social network can hold. They can’t know everything about you, but they can know some things.

So why is this information important? Businesses who want to sell you things or government agencies who want information about you can use this information to their benefit. Companies or agencies may not be able to find out your darkest secrets, but they can figure out things like your political or religious affiliation and products you might be interested in. The same things platforms like Facebook and Twitter know (and sell) about their users.

The researchers went on to acknowledge that their research “raises profound questions about the fundamental nature of privacy—and how, in a highly networked society, a person’s choices and identity are embedded in that network.”

“There’s no place to hide in a social network,” said
co-author Lewis Mitchell.

Professor James Bagrow, also an author of the paper, confirmed: You alone don’t control your privacy on social media platforms. Your friends have a say too.

In April, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told lawmakers that the social network collected data on nonusers for “security purposes.” That includes people’s contact list when they use Facebook’s mobile app, which the company uses to suggest friend recommendations, it explained.

In response to the study, a Facebook spokeswoman said the company doesn’t build profiles on nonusers, even if it’s collecting data on them. “If you aren’t a Facebook user, we can’t identify you based on this information, or use it to learn who you are,” the company said in a statement.

The study shows there’s only so much you can control in terms of your own privacy and security online. As careful as you are online, the study suggests that you’re only as private as your friends have been.

Social Media and its Impact on Divorce

Studies have shown a link between social media use and a decrease in people’s quality of marriage

Can you name one person in your family, or among your friends, or peers at work that does not have a Facebook account? I seriously doubt it. Chances are much greater that they all have Twitter, Instagram, and a number of other social media accounts as well.

And in today’s social media savvy world, the courtroom is no different. When divorce is involved, the question of electronic evidence, and social media evidence, in particular, comes into play in various ways. Modern relationships fall hazard to the sometimes illicit goings-on of spouses that end up publicized for the entire world to see (and “like” or comment on) on the Internet.

According to one study, “Results show that using social networking services is negatively correlated with marriage quality and happiness, and positively correlated with experiencing a troubled relationship and thinking about divorce.” Another source adds that social media “evidence can also highlight character attributes in custody arrangements, hidden assets such as boats and cars in alimony settlements, contradict oral testimonies and more.”
In many situations, focusing more on a person’s social media friends and presence can detrimentally affect a person’s real-life relationship. Some studies have shown that social media activity played a part in one out of seven divorces.

Evidence in Divorce Cases

Not only is social media a growing cause for divorce, now it is being used as evidence in divorce cases. It can be used to demonstrate infidelity, and in some states may impact the amount of alimony awarded. Social media use may also be admitted for other purposes including hiding assets. If there are pictures or statements on social media that refer to these assets, the evidence may be admitted for this purpose. Additionally, it can demonstrate that a person is unfit as a parent. It may show the parent smoking, doing drugs, or drinking alcohol around their children. It may also show the parent allowing their children to engage in risky behavior which indicates the children are not safe with the parent.

Web Preserver aggregates some startling statistical figures to drive home this point:

81% of attorneys discover social networking evidence worth presenting in court
66% of cases involving divorce employ Facebook as one of their principal evidence sources
1/3 of all legal action in divorces cases is precipitated by affairs conducted online

You can’t argue with facts. Social media is affecting relationships and being used in divorce litigation in serious and important ways.

What Evidence is Admissible?

According to one periodical, a spouse’s posts on social media platforms are admissible as evidence in the United States during divorce proceedings, given that they are not procured illegally. Also, an opposing attorney or the estranged husband or wife is not legally allowed to open false accounts with the purpose of “Friending” them in order to gain access to particular photos or posts that may be damning. Spouses are not legally permitted to come by those same posts via “hacking” or other equivalently malicious means.

So be careful what you share…posts and photos that are made public are able to be seen or inspected by anyone in the world. That material is fair game to be admitted as evidence for or against someone.

Guidelines for Social Media Usage during Divorce

Once a divorce is pending, spouses should expect that they will be under close personal scrutiny by their spouse and his or her lawyer. This is a common time for social media activity to be investigated. Individuals who are going through divorce should proceed with extra caution and assume that people who they do not actually intend to see their posts will see the posts and should proceed with this assumption. Additionally, their posts may be reposted to friends’ pages and then other people can view them. You can’t always rely on your privacy settings.

Divorcing spouses should be very mindful about what they post because anything can be taken out of context. Spouses should carefully censor what they post and avoid making any type of statement or posting any type of video or image that could be used against them. Additionally, they should ask friends and family not to post any embarrassing comments, photos or videos of them that may paint them in a negative light.

Due to the public nature of social media, it should not be used as a support system. Many online friends may not actually be that trustworthy or even close to a person and may reveal shared information to the other spouse. Spouses should avoid talking about their legal case or complaining about their spouse in such a public forum.

Conclusion

States will differ in how social media posts are admitted and employed during a divorce trial. But in most cases, posts on social networking platforms are admissible as evidence. They may prove that someone did not comply with a protective order, prove financial status through photographic evidence, affect cases involving custody of children, and much more. Being aware of how it may affect a divorce client is paramount to reaching a favorable result in the courtroom