Pain in the Craigslist

When I was laid off last year, I had the time to start doing projects that needed to be done. This included downsizing the garage. I started by posting a few things on Craigslist. This proved pretty successful. I was, however, surprised at the number of people that would drive more than 20 miles for an electric toothbrush.

At the height, I had more than 100 items listed, a lot of small things and some bigger ones. As my postings increased, I started to notice a trend. Right after posting things up, I would get a response from someone, usually all in lower case letters asking if the item was still available. I would reply and, almost instantly, recieve an automated reply that said something about how they used to sell things on Craigslist but it wasn't safe to do it anymore and how they now make extra money. They send you to a link called googleandmoney.com. The server for googleandmoney is in Nassau, Bahamas. In case you didn't know, this is a scam.

A lot of these auto-responses come from Yahoo but you will see them from a variety of places depending on where you live in the country. Google is aware of them and has taken action in the past - http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/fighting-fraud-online-taking-google.html

But it really is a nuisance to wade through some of these but they are mostly harmless if you don't click on the link within the email, or God forbid, sign up for the Google and money stuff.

Craigslist is a great way to sell things in your local area but you do need to stay safe - http://www.guidetocraigslist.com/staying_safe.html

Scams & Swindles: Phishing, Spoofing, ID Theft, Nigerian Advance Schemes Investment Frauds: How to Recognize And Avoid Rip-Offs In The Internet Age