How to Tell if It's a Real Response on Craigslist
Craigslist is an online forum where users post city-specific classified advertisements. People use Craigslist to buy and sell objects, find jobs and search for apartments. Additional sections exist for people seeking volunteer opportunities and hobby classes. In many sections, posting advertisements costs nothing. Craigslist ranks among the more popular sites to look for and post online classified ads, according to "Bloomberg Businessweek." Following a few guidelines will help ensure that the people you deal with through Craigslist are legitimate.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
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Read where the respondent says he lives. Most real Craigslist responses come from people who live in your city.
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Look at the response's grammar and sentence construction. Scammers sometimes come from foreign countries and may use improper grammar or unusual syntax not typically used by those fluent in English. For example, scammers sometimes use commas instead of periods to end sentences. Real Craigslist responses will typically read like they came from people who write English well.
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Look to see if the respondent asks for money without requesting an in-person meeting. People who seek money up front for a good or service are usually not legitimate respondents. Real Craigslist responses will typically seek to set up a meeting, in person or over the phone, to discuss any exchange of goods or services.
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Question any response that seems too good to be true. If someone offers you an apartment in a prime neighborhood at an unbelievably low rate, the response is probably fake. Real responses will involve market rates for rents, plausible-sounding job opportunities and other realistic information.
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Tips & Warnings
Trust your intuition. If you get a gut feeling that something isn't right, it may not be.
Avoid giving out your personal information, such as Social Security or credit card numbers.
