Be Aware: Craigslist Phishing and Scamming Posts

Internet scams on craigslist:

In the past few years I have received numerous phishing/scam emails in my inbox trying to gain my personal information. Today it happened to a relative of mine which again motivated me to make the public aware of such scams.

I am currently in search of a new career. My mom is also looking for a part-time job to help her earn some extra income. Each day we both go on to craigslist.com and search jobs in our area. I do pay close attention to the “Avoid Scams” warning written on various craigslist pages. This post is not designed to knock craigslist but just to share my experiences and help you spot a scam. I think craigslist is a great site and has helped me land a job or two in the past.

Personal Experiences:

For Rent Scam

I have had more scammers contact me than I can count through craigslist. I have used craigslist for jobs and to search for real estate. I live in California but I was also an Oregon resident last year. I have had scammers contact me in both states for local jobs and real estate for sale/rent.

There is one scam that sticks out the most and I can only hope nobody would fall for. It happened last year while in Oregon. We had moved to the State and needed a house to rent before we bought a house. We searched craigslist and found three potential houses. One of the houses looked too good to be true. The post was very detailed and even had the address with a image of the location on Google maps.

We drove to visit the house and see if it was what was listed in the ad. As were driving through the neighborhood we thought “there is no way we could afford to live here”. We pulled up to this huge 5bd, 4 ba brand new home that sat perched on a hillside overlooking a canyon and river. The view alone was worth the rent. We nearly had a heart attack. We called the number listed in craigslist right away and it went straight to voicemail. We left a message. Then we emailed the owner.

The next day we received and email saying “Thank you for you interested, the house not rented so you can have. Please send $800 to me and I send you keys. I only ask you take care of my home. Please include all of you information and social number”. Right away I thought SCAM!! The house was worth at least $5000 a month in rent and the guy was asking $800 without a contract, background check or ever meeting us? I was wondering how the scam artist had pictures of the correct home in Oregon and knew all the details?

I later researched and found out these Nigerian scammers copy the real owners ads and paste them in there own posts. The pictures, location and details were all real but the owner was not. The scammer changes the phone number to a voicemail that belongs to him and gives his disposable email address. This house we looked at was probably already rented out or was taken off the market months before the post. I never did see a “for rent” sign but the house was empty and looked like nobody lived there. Again I wondered how the scammer knew nobody would be home when we went to see the house. The scammer is working all the way in another country.

The email was written in very bad English and there was a bulleted list asking for all of my information which was phishing for my information. After a few more houses and the same responses we realized just how many fake “for rent” posts there were. We received the same response as above on 3-4 houses for rent.

They all had the same poor grammar; they asked for money and they would give us keys and they had a list asking for personal information. They also were all from a man with the last name ‘Lamb’. It was anything from Robert Lamb who lived in Alaska to Harvey Lamb from Africa. They all claimed to own the houses and would give up the keys if we took care of their house.

Job scams

Almost daily my mom or I receive a phishing/scam email from a job post we had responded to the previous night on craigslist. The job locations and positions vary so it’s hard to narrow down the bad ones. I already know what to look for in the job posts and what could potentially be a scam. I never send my personal information or resume unless I know it’s a real job.

If the job looks too good to be true then it is probably not true! If the job says something like “You will work in an office where we play all day and you make a few copies and we pay you $60/hr” it’s not real! I saw an actual post that said “Veterinarian needed asap. No experience needed and no background checks. You will drive around in a company truck helping animals by yourself with no supervision. Make $100k plus per year”. A veterinarian with no experience? C’mon!

There are a lot of jobs that look authentic. They have a company logo and they are very detailed. Only when you get the response do you know it was a scam. Please do not send a resume unless asked first and never give out your social security number for anything! Do your homework. Call or go visit the job site first and see if it is real if possible. Contact the actual company to see if they are really hiring and ask if they know Mr. So and So who posted the job on craiglist. It can’t hurt. With this economy and so many unemployed people out there someone has to be falling for these scams. Don’t be on them.

Here is what to look for to make sure the job posting may be authentic:

• A company name and logo should be present
• Company information such as phone numbers, names and location
• Correct grammar and realistic job related duties
• Well known companies such as Walmart, Target ….are usually real
• IF IT’S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE THEN DON’T TRUST IT!!

Today my mom received the actual phishing email (below) for what she thought was a job. She sent a response to the job poster from the link on craigslist. In her email she only asked, “Where is the job located and what is the pay”. She did not send a resume!! Today she received this actual email:

Actual scam email

“I got your resume and it has been reviewed, I did appreciate i. So I will give this a GO”

I’m looking for someone that can be trusted and reliable to work very well and with good understanding.
This position is home-based and flexible, working with me is basically about instructions and following them,my only fear is that I may come at you impromptu sometimes, so I need someone who can be able to meet up with my irregular timings.As my Personal Assistant,your activities amongst other things will include;
*Running personal errands, supervisions and monitoring. Scheduling programmes, flights and keeping me up to date with them.Acting as an alternative telephone correspondence while I’m away.Making regular contacts and drop-offs on my behalf. Handling and monitoring some of my financial activities..
Basic wage is $500 Weekly

I’m sure you’ll understand I tend to have a very busy schedule at this point,as I am presently in Australia, I will be back in Three Weeks.
I think you’re the right person for this position,Please note that this position is not office based for now because of my frequent travels and tight schedules, it’s a part-time work from home and the flexibility means that there will be busier weeks than others, so it’s a little difficult judging the exact number of hours you’ll be doing per week.If you can manage your time properly,this job may even give you some extras while you do something else on the side. As I have said, I’d want us to get a head START with things as soon as possible.I do have lots of works piled up presently and a number of unattended chores which you can immediately assist me with, I hope we can meet up with the workload eventually. Permit me to use the coming week to test your efficiency and diligence towards all this, also to work out your time schedule and fit it to mine. I really need to find the perfect person for this job, I’m confident you can take up the challenge and on the long run we should have a relatively sound working relationship between us.. I’m online most of the time as I am hard of hearing so I prefer we contact each other through E-mails,but if there is need for me to call, I will be glad to do that.I am glad you are willing to work with me and i promise to be a good boss. I am also glad on the commitment in working.I have been checking my files and what i would want you to do for me this week is to run some errands out to some of the orphanage home, I do that every month.A payment inform of a Cashier Check/Money Order will be sent over to you from one of my clients and i have some lists to email you once you received the funds,You will make some arrangements by buying some stuff for the kids in the Orphanage at any nearest store around you so you can mail them out. I will get you more information on that,I will like you to get back to me with your Contact Details such as:

First Name :
Last Name :
Street Address (no p.o box) :
City, State, Zip Code :
Cell Phone Number:
Home Phone Number:
Sex :
Current Occupation :
Email Address :
ALL YOUR INFORMATION SHOULD BE SENT TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS.
Once I have received your contact information, I will get back to you with the task for this week,Understand you will also be paid as well as its important for me to make the necessary steps before i get back from my business trip back to the states. Hope I am clear with that.

Get back as soon as possible.”