Posted: 9/11/2008 10:00:10 AM EDT
| I just listed my old Honda on Craigs List 2 hours ago and I just sold it for under $100 of my asking price! Wow, just wow! |
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Watch your back. __________________ Craigslist deal turns violent for several would-be buyers 06:08 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 By WENDY HUNDLEY / The Dallas Morning News [email protected] David Zoller has bought and sold items on Craigslist for five years without any problems. So the North Dallas resident wasn't suspicious when he spotted an ad for a big-screen TV that he figured was worth about $2,100 selling for a cool $1,000. He contacted the man who placed the ad, and they agreed to meet at the man's house in Garland. The seller explained that he was breaking up with his girlfriend and had to move out of the house in the 2200 block of West Kingsley Road. "He said 'Don't be alarmed if the house is empty,' " said Mr. Zoller, who went to the house on July 17 with his colleague Guy Grivas. "There was nothing out of the ordinary," said Mr. Zoller, a commercial real estate broker. But once they got inside the house, they were greeted by a gunman with a red bandanna over his face who stole their money and cellphones. "When he put a gun in my face, my philosophy is: Don't argue. I went motionless and lowered myself to the ground," Mr. Zoller said. "It was over in 20 seconds." Police say Mr. Zoller and Mr. Grivas are two of several victims who have been robbed in recent weeks when responding to classified ads placed on Craigslist. They're trying to warn unsuspecting buyers to use caution when purchasing items from strangers on the popular online listing service. "Hundreds of these transactions take place all the time, and most are legitimate," said Richardson police Sgt. Kevin Perlich. "But sometimes they can turn out to be a scam or a robbery." Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster issued a statement Tuesday expressing sympathy for the robbery victims and stating that violent crime on the site is "extremely rare." "Nevertheless, we do urge our users to use the same common-sense precautions online that they would use offline," Mr. Buckmaster said. "For example, users should choose a public meeting place like a cafe when meeting someone for the first time." Sgt. Perlich believes that one or two suspects are behind the crimes and that they always use the same setup: They tell the buyers they have to sell the items quickly and to bring cash. The suspects break into a vacant home where they arrange to meet the victims. That's what happened on Aug. 27 to a young couple who went to a vacant home in the 1500 block of Stonecrest Drive in Richardson. A Honda Accord had been posted on Craigslist for $6,000. "They didn't bring any money with them," Sgt. Perlich said. "So they kept the woman at the house and told him to go to make a withdrawal." One suspect followed the man to a bank machine, while the other kept the woman hostage until the man returned with the money. The couple was unharmed, but they were so traumatized by the ordeal that they didn't even report the crime to police until urged to do so by a friend, Sgt. Perlich said. A similar crime took place Aug. 1 in Garland. The victims arrived at a house in the 2400 block of Patricia Lane to buy a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta. They were robbed of $5,000. In all three cases, the buyers arrived at homes in middle-class neighborhoods and didn't suspect that anything was amiss until it was too late. "There were neighbors outside, traffic on the road. It wasn't a rundown kind of place," Mr. Grivas recalls of the Kingsley Road address. "Looking back, you can see how good the setup was. We should have seen some signs." Police have not made any arrests in the cases and have no suspects. Such crimes are not new, however. Last year, a man from the Waco area was robbed and killed when he came to Dallas to buy a car he saw advertised on the Internet. Police said Christian Marton, 21, was confronted by an armed man when he pulled up in front an apartment complex in Lake Highlands. Mr. Zoller said that he'll continue to buy and sell merchandise over the Internet but that he will be more careful. "It's really important to protect yourself," he said. "The money is replaceable. Your life is not." |
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I buy and sell on craigslist quite a bit. Only once did I have an unpleasant experience. I went to look at a 4 wheel for my son and the guy selling it was a tweaker. It was "not as advertised" and he lived in a fucking dump, he had that "scrambling urgency" of a junkie geeking for a fix. A few minutes after I got there he must have noticed me giving him and his place the eyeball cause he says "don't worry man, I'm not going to try and rob you". I just replied, "I'm certain your not"  (I ccw'ed to the meeting place) |
Yeah but in this case you would have probably just lost your carry piece too. I mean they basically walked into the room and the guy already had a gun drawn. Just goes to show carrying without paying attention isn't much help. |
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Be Careful, this happened here in Minnesota this spring Man Seeking Escort On Craigslist Shot In Face Reporting James Schugel COON RAPIDS, Minn. (WCCO) ― An invitation to an escort turned into an ugly confrontation that led to a man being shot in the face. Jeffrey Lee VanDyke used Craigslist, looking for a female companion overnight at his home in Coon Rapids back in February. He responded to a posting under the "erotic" section, and then made arrangements with the escort service. Shortly after, according to investigators, he tried cancelling the escort many times. But before he could a man and woman showed up at his home planning to rob him. As VanDyke held his storm door shut, hoping to keep the pair out, he was shot once in the jaw. He later woke up with a bleeding injury to his face. This past Monday the Anoka County Attorney charged Brock Franklin for the crime. He faces attempted first degree murder. The woman who police said was with him that night, 18-year-old Starsha Swift, is also in the Anoka County Jail. Investigators said that Franklin was running an escort service out of his apartment on Portland Avenue in Minneapolis. Neighbors say police recently raided the place and seized a few laptops. "I just think that any type of resource out there to locate potential victims is where the bad guys will be lurking," said Capt. James Stuart with the Anoka County Sheriff's Office. He said anyone online should be on alert. "You should know who's on the other side of the computer," he remarks. "The advice is only deal with reputable sources. Make sure you know who's on the other end." Some police said that stolen property can sometimes be found on Craigslist, along with illegal activities. "I would say, anyone doing any type of online purchasing needs to be very careful of who they're doing business with," said Stuart. Minneapolis police have investigated at least five robberies in the last couple months, where men got jumped or robbed after meeting someone on Craigslist. |
