craiglist scams going crazy

[openroad118]

I see red flags as an email response to my email where the item being sold is not mentioned, a boiler-plate response. I am also suspicious where the responder is a "woman", using a female name. If you are responding to a 'woman', you may feel a woman wouldn't be a scammer.

[jump]

A Red flag for me is when there is no phone # to call the person ... If someone really wants to sell something, then why would they not want to talk to people who might be buyers?

[1rancher1]

Aage, Thanks. I am unsure of how to contact The Website Administrator to forward my simple request to improve The Classifieds and protect all members. I will bet they are still trying to sort out the bugs on the new format, so this may be a good and opportune time to institute the simple inclusions in The Classifieds Postings. Could you forward my ideas to the appropriate parties? (or) Give me a valid link to the powers that be? We need to do this: (1) Require a VIN Number on all listings. (2)Require an answer to this question. Do you have Clear, Original Title, in your name?(3) Is your Title a Salvage and/or Reconditioned Title? Three simple questions would save a lot of honest buyers from a sea of dishonest sellers. Thanks for your consideration of my request. Rancher1

[macofpei]

I kind of worry about supplying the VIN number because a copy of a registration can be made to look valid and help someone steal a trailer and sell it to you.
The scammer needs the VIN number and, in some cases, the plate number to get a "legal" copy of their "lost" registration paper. You respond to what looks like a legal trailer, complete with a "new copy" of a legal registration and pay real money for it. It isn't until you try to legally register your new to you trailer( or whatever you bought) that you find out you lost both the money AND whatever you bought.
The VIN should be supplied in the ad listing but hidden from the public view and ONLY supplied to a valid buyer.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by 1rancher1

Aage, Thanks. I am unsure of how to contact The Website Administrator to forward my simple request to improve The Classifieds and protect all members. I will bet they are still trying to sort out the bugs on the new format, so this may be a good and opportune time to institute the simple inclusions in The Classifieds Postings. Could you forward my ideas to the appropriate parties? (or) Give me a valid link to the powers that be? We need to do this: (1) Require a VIN Number on all listings. (2)Require an answer to this question. Do you have Clear, Original Title, in your name?(3) Is your Title a Salvage and/or Reconditioned Title? Three simple questions would save a lot of honest buyers from a sea of dishonest sellers. Thanks for your consideration of my request. Rancher1

On behalf of the site team, I wanted to reply to this in the public forum in case it benefits others as well.

We always appreciate constructive input. In general, if you want to direct a message to the site team, there are 3 reliable methods.
-- At the bottom of nearly every page on the site there is a blue bar with a set of links, and the first link is "Contact Us." This sends an email to the admins.
-- At the bottom of the Portal page you'll find a list of the people logged into the site at the moment. Moderators who are logged in are displayed in bold-face type, and you can click on any of the moderators' username and send a private message to one of us.
-- If you feel that what you want to post is of general interest or could use input from other members of the forum AND it's related to the structure or software of the forum, you can post to the "Forum How-Tos & Support" forum.

To be clear: Your post in this thread was on-topic and there is no problem with it at all, but you expressed uncertainty that it would get the attention of the site team. I just wanted to offer you some options for future use if you want to be sure the site team sees any suggestions or concerns you're offering.

[Aage]

Originally Posted by 1rancher1

Aage, Thanks. I am unsure of how to contact The Website Administrator to forward my simple request to improve The Classifieds and protect all members. I will bet they are still trying to sort out the bugs on the new format, so this may be a good and opportune time to institute the simple inclusions in The Classifieds Postings. Could you forward my ideas to the appropriate parties? (or) Give me a valid link to the powers that be? We need to do this: (1) Require a VIN Number on all listings. (2)Require an answer to this question. Do you have Clear, Original Title, in your name?(3) Is your Title a Salvage and/or Reconditioned Title? Three simple questions would save a lot of honest buyers from a sea of dishonest sellers. Thanks for your consideration of my request. Rancher1

Thanks, Rancher1, those are all good ideas, and the Site Team will give them all consideration!

And thanks to David for catching this and forwarding it while I was out.

Aage

[openroad118]

I never put my phone # on craigs list ads, as I don't want anyone tracing where I live. I will give them my # once I talked to them and they seemed ligit>

[1rancher1]

Originally Posted by macofpei

I kind of worry about supplying the VIN number because a copy of a registration can be made to look valid and help someone steal a trailer and sell it to you.
The scammer needs the VIN number and, in some cases, the plate number to get a "legal" copy of their "lost" registration paper. You respond to what looks like a legal trailer, complete with a "new copy" of a legal registration and pay real money for it. It isn't until you try to legally register your new to you trailer( or whatever you bought) that you find out you lost both the money AND whatever you bought.
The VIN should be supplied in the ad listing but hidden from the public view and ONLY supplied to a valid buyer.

Valid concerns. Scam artitsts are clever indeed. E-Bay Motors has a box for the VIN and Title conditon...ie Salvage, clear, etc, and they are the most successful seller of trailers and vehicles in the world. Providing the VIN allows potential buyers to do a title search and determine if the trailer has ever been in an accident reported to an insurance company or in a police report. With the trailer I just had a problem with...the seller did not furnish me a front and back copy for verification, so forget it. Many of the late 80's trailers with even minimal body panel damage be declared a TOTAL loss by and Insurance Company, due to the high cost of repair, and sell it back to the owner with a Salvage Title, or run it through an auction. Without honest disclosure, you can end up with an uninsurable, unsellable trailer if you pay before seeing the actual title document. I understand your concerns; however, E-Bay would not require the VIN and title disclosure if it was not somewhat effective after many years dominating vehicular sales. (And) E-bay is no great place to securely shop either. A real catch 22. The Classified Forum can do better, we just need to keep coming up with viable ideas. Thx, Rancher 1

[1rancher1]

This is what I think an ad should look like. I just finished up a nice little Avion 7.9 Meter Restoration. (Rarely will I do an Avion, but this one had so much potential, I could not resist) I give my phone number and provide a VIN on request (Craigslist does not require a VIN) I do insist that any prospective buyers call me, prior to photos or additional information. I give good, straight-away photos and extensive non-criptic descriptions. I do not want to deal with bottom feeder buyers, so I charge a little more to attract the best possible restoration-to-stock customers that want a safe, functional, sharp looking Camper. I want to talk via phone before I go any further...any B.S. and the deal is terminated by me right away. Look at this ad I posted on Austin C/L this evening... a real deal just smells right & feels right. p.s. I am not trying to sell anything here..just an example. 1978 Avion 25' Travel Trailer (Similar to Airstream) Rancher1

[Owengarrett]

I spotted 2 - a Bambi in perfect condition going for $2500. The "poor" gentleman was being transferred to Alaska and our govt would transport the Bambi to your location free of charge.
Another one has another airstream ( I don't remember the make) but again very under priced and exact same pics in different states. Very shady also.
We're looking to purchase but using caution. We don't even show up with cash - we scope out the place first and the seller.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Owengarrett

I spotted 2 - a Bambi in perfect condition going for $2500. The "poor" gentleman was being transferred to Alaska and our govt would transport the Bambi to your location free of charge.
Another one has another airstream ( I don't remember the make) but again very under priced and exact same pics in different states. Very shady also.
We're looking to purchase but using caution. We don't even show up with cash - we scope out the place first and the seller.

Any time you see an obvious scam on Craigslist, please click the "prohibited" link to report that ad as a way to make life difficult for scammers and better for buyers. Among many other things, the partial list of prohibited ads includes the following:

"false, misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent content; bait and switch; keyword spam"

Please also note that we have recently added a "Report this ad" button directly to our own classified ads, if you suspect that an ad is fraudulent please use that button and we'll investigate further.