Conned via Craigslist

With such widespread globalization today, it is impossible for producers and consumers to entirely depend on physical markets for sale and purchase of goods and services. Many social networking entities offer buyers and sellers a virtual, online market where they can interact and exchange these goods and services. One such entity is craigslist.com, providing local classifieds and forums for around 570 cities in 50 countries worldwide. Wikipedia describes it as "a centralized network of online communities, featuring free online classified advertisements – with jobs, internships, housing, personals, erotic services, for sale/barter/wanted, services, community, gigs, résumés, and pets categories – and forums on various topics".



Granted that such social networks aim for customer satisfaction and serve so that customers at both ends of a deal/transaction maximize their gains, it is amazing to see to what lengths people sometimes go to serve their own interest and exploit the services offered by networking sites like craigslist. In April 2008, a married mastermind couple posted a bogus ad on craigslist, inviting people to come and claim/grab (for free) all the things from a house that they had robbed earlier while its owner was out of town. They posted this ad as though it was from the real owner of the house, stating that all his things were up for grabs since he had to leave the state in a hurry. Fortunately, the real owner was notified in time but he still returned home to a mob of people that refused to give up the stuff they claimed was now theirs’.



Another similar incident occurred in October 2008, where a man posted an ad on craigslist for road maintenance workers needed for a job across from a Bank of America branch. He asked the recruiters to wait around the bank wearing yellow vests, safety goggles, a respirator mask, and preferably a blue shirt. He then showed up wearing the same outfit and proceeded to spray a supervising armor truck guard with a pepper spray and got away with a bag of money that was being loaded in the truck - with the craigslist recruits standing around as decoys while he escaped.



Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craigslist

http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites

http://news.cnet.com/bank-robber-hires-decoys-on-craigslist-fools-cops/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23925847/