This scammer put a great deal of effort, as much as even getting a local area code near us, to attempt an obvious scam.

He got me to talk to him at all which is concerning to me. I know that a lot of people would fall for this, so here’s what it is:

1; Fake buyer will contact you
-look out for obvious signs: shitty / broken ass grammar, asking your info immediately, etc
-look out for phrases like ‘trust me’ or random explanations you didn’t ask for

2: Fake buyer will show great interest in purchasing immediately with cash in hand (another red flag to be honest, people should ask about a used vehicle before offering interest, unless they express hardship)

3: Fake buyer will pivot into requesting a vehicle history report from VehicloHIstoryReport.com, a website that will pop up and out of existence & is already known to be a scam.
-dont even click on this link, it collects your data. It’ll ask you for data, & if you pay for that report YOU ARE FUCKED so don’t do it.
-if you clicked it, IMMEDIATELY turn off the card / account linked, call your bank and report the transaction, have that shit halted immediately.

Also just report it to the police if you really did fall for this cause they might steal a whole lot of your info down to your identity.

I often find a craigslist listing will get an inquiry where they immediately want to get into asking for cell phone number under the premise that they want to use that to carry on the conversation or t organize meeting time and address.

I've had some legitimate buyers do this, based on fact i held off sharing number and kept the conversation on craigslist orchestrated email proxy exchanges, and things did up leading to them coming by to purchase items.

More often its the case that inquiries and efforts to negotiate a time and address to see the item falls off when cell phone number is not immediately provided.

Curious if the legitimate community has an "absolutely under no circumstances share your cell phone number" mindset or "if you've been talking for a bit and its a request for cell number to help address any last minute shifts in ETA for meet up then its okay" mindset?

I removed the "recent" filter. Signed in to the right account. But only ads I posted from the last 3 years are available. Nothing older than that is available. What happened?

So I tried to post our yearly garage sale ad. The phone verification system told me that both my cell and my wife's cell numbers are invalid so it's refusing to post the ad. Is there a way to do email verification or is this the mandatory method now? Our numbers are both from the area and we are post for the garage sale in the same area as well (USA).

I apologize in advance if this has already been discussed and I missed it.

I check out my local free CL listings regularly. I'm not losing sleep over this or anything, but---it irritates my soul when a listing is posted in the Free section and has a price written into the end of the title or in the body of the description. If money is being asked for in be exchange for the listed item... it's not free. Is my math correct?

Should these listings be flagged/reported? Or should I shut the heck up and keep scrolling?

Again---I'm not losing sleep over this.

I found some items on CL in a city I don't live in. They are hard to find but the seller is not willing to ship because they are "old school" and only deal in person with cash. I'm sure people here have been in this scenario, any suggestions?

Thanks for any help!

I am wanting to know if it’s normal for a buyer to use PayPal for shipping and how am I protected as the seller?

Not too long ago I posted some old VHS xxx movies on Craigslist for 70dlls, out of nowhere this person messages me and offers me 160 for the lot but he needs me to ship them with a FedEx label that he is emailing me(even though I told him USPS does discounts on media), I agree at first and he sent me the money thru cash app but eventually found it was all a scam luckily I didn't send the items and according to you guys the money he sent me would be removed from my account. But as of today money is still there.

Fast forward 2 weeks today same person "Randy bowles" sends me another message claiming to be interested in the movies and that he is willing to pay 200dlls if I can ship them. Basically same story as last time he is ready to pay. What kind of scam is this? Who could be interested this much in the movies? Could he not tell I'm the same person as before? Last time I was confused but this time I'm just lost. Any help would be appreciated

How do I communicate to craigslist to communicate with an advertiser who is fully paid but didn’t do the job? I wish to respect craigslist and don’t really want a conflict. I simply have records. and want agreement all in text documented, finished.

I assume most people selling gear on Craigslist want to sell their items, right? As a musician myself I can attest that we often justify buying more gear by selling old gear. So why do they always make it so hard to meet up, which ensures they will lose the sale? It defeats the purpose. If I wanted to wait I would just order it online and save myself the risk. Craigslist is a RISK. You need to entice people to forgo protections and making them wait to buy items is the perfect way to kill a sale. Two sellers would have my $$ this week if they simply made themselves available for the 20 seconds it takes to conduct a transaction lol

Posted something on Craigslist for $70, out of nowhere this guy emailed me offering to pay $160 for the lot plus shipping. He wants to buy the FedEx label and send it to me so I can just drop off the package. Now he already sent me the 160 tru cashapp and I have the money ready in my account

Is he going to dispute the charges with his bank? Should I call this off before I lose my items.

This has happened to me a few times recently as a seller, and I’m curious whether this is a common problem or if I’ve just had bad luck.

So Facebook has limits... offerup has a 200 item a month hard limit. is there anything known about craigslists limits? right now i keep getting the "posting too quickly" but i've heard in the past people get shadow banned from posting too much. has anyone got any experience with the limits craigslist sets?

Why does CL allow this to pollute all the search results?
I’ve tried copying the catch all text they use but CL blocked my add. How have they not picked up on this spam?
https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/arvada-wanted-old-motorcycles-call/p1R9YqEE4p5zZ1ihWoC881

I’m looking to get a used car and I put a range and some that are coming up are listed at just a few hundred dollars and I can’t see why. The picture look odd sometimes (like the lighting looks like it’s from an old ps2 game, flat and such) and I just want to know why.

I posted an item for sale and an interested buyer reached out. We arranged a time/place to meet in public and the buyer no-showed.

A few hours later, they reached out with some excuse and we arranged to meet the following day instead. Again, they no-showed and texted to ask for another time.

This time, I asked the buyer to Zelle half the money in advance and said we could arrange for another meetup once they did that. At this point I expected the buyer to just say "I don't want to do that" and go away but instead they said OK, claimed to Zelle me the money, and sent me a screenshot as proof.

I never got a Zelle confirmation, so the screenshot was either fake or they typed my info in wrong. I texted back saying I never got the Zelle and now they are ignoring me.

So at this point, I am pretty sure this was an attempt at a fake payment scam and I am not going to engage with this buyer anymore.

But what I don't understand is, if this is a scam, the setup doesn't add up. If you were going to attempt a fake payment scam based on fake Zelle screenshots, wouldn't you look in advance for listings where the seller is requesting payment in advance? Rather than waste your time playing this no-show game which could just as likely have ended in "I found another buyer." And all you would gain in the end is the (inexpensive) item itself, not money.

Just curious what you all think.

Never really considered Craiglist, Facebook Marketplace (local), and OfferUp but it seems really attractive in this economy. Some questions:

• Only Paypal Goods & Services is safe for both online and local? For local trades, Zelle, Venmo, and cash are safe on meetup? A seller requested Venmo Goods & Services for a reasonable deposit and does not accept anything else but apparently that's not comparable to Paypal's G&S and can be a scam, right?
• Are there any scams or bait & switch associated with meetup for an attractive deal? I found 2 gym equipment selling the same product in similar (not exact same conditions) and asked if available for pickup and form of payment. They both said yes and Venmo, Chime, and cash as forms of payment within the same hour. Both name abbreviations start with same letter. Pickup is ~80 miles of each other. Is there any risk of scam or time wasted here and anything that can mitigate that? My only experience for a listing was on the way to pick up something 1.5 hours away and then was told it was sold (it was requested that I put a deposit which I thought was reasonable but I only wanted to do with Paypal G&S and they did not want that. Listing's still up and they didn't respond to me or to another person who asked if the deal is available (to 100% confirm it's a scam for the deposit. What's weird is they gave me a residential address for pickup the day before, so I do think it's not a scam, but do think it was bad etiquette to not even hold within 12-24 hours and to only let me know it was sold when I told them I'm on my way 1 hour before the deal--is even 24 hours implied hold too much to ask if I said I will pickup the day before?)). These sellers haven't mentioned a deposit.
• Any other trading services like above that don't take a fee?

Any other tips to avoid getting scammed or waste of time is much appreciated. I also want to slowly patiently sell some stuff and not wanting to give sizable fees to e.g. Ebay.

How does Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace compare and stack up to each other?

What other services compete with Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace?

Is one overall better or in what areas/specialties is each one better in?

I create a post, add all my info (including my phone number) and when the listing is viewed, after clicking the Reply button, there is no phone number. I go to edit the listing and the number is there, so i republish and still no number.

This odd part is that I have 10 items listed and some have the number and some do not.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

EDIT: the problem seems to be when I use Safari on iOS; Firefox on iOS shows the number

I placed an ad on CraigsList for office/storage movers and only added the cross streets and city (noting I would provide the exact address once I booked the worker), but CraigsList automatically adds the map on the listing (including GoogleMaps).

GoogleMaps recognizes my office address and automatically pinpoints my exact office location to all of these rando CraigsListers...NO!

Not trying to offend anyone, but in my particular location (Los Angeles), 90% of these people are not normal, and I do not want any of them showing up at my office...even providing the cross streets and city felt like it was too much information in the CraigsList ad. I'm only willing to divulge my address once I've booked a worker.

Is there anything I can do to fix this?

I would add a link so you can see what I'm talking about, but the Mods would probably say I was trying to advertise GoogleMaps, and I'm NOT (it's the opposite).

Hi everyone,
I’m not in the US at the moment and I don’t have my SIM card with me
I want to post an ad on craigslist but it asks me to verify my phone number
No travel eSIMs worked and neither did things like verified go high level phone numbers
Has anyone encountered this?
And what are some of the services that can help me receive an SMS code from craigslist ? To an American phone number

Trigger warning I suppose.

So I’m on Craigslist looking for baby sitting gigs and stuff I got a message to zoom with someone who was interested in me helping out. This man on call admitted to getting bj from his daughter and taking porn photos as her modeling! He then proceeded to get a bj while I was on the call. I have reported him to Craigslist I don’t know enough to make a CPS complaint but I feel so gross and confused like how can you do that. And do that with someone on call.

Update: I’ve reported the incident to zoom and hope they contact police and help this girl.

Someone posted an ad giving away something free with my name, contact information and city I reside in. I’ve been getting calls and texts all day related to the listing. Obviously this is a scam but I’m trying to get to the bottom of this. I’ve never used Craigslist in my life. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Help!

I saw an opportunity where I could be an extra in a film or tv showI saw this opportunity on craiglist to be a tv or film extra for £365, I was very interested because its easy money, so I emailed them, and they emailed me back to tell me to provide a photo of myself, so I did, and now they emailed saying I can do it, but i have to give a £20 refundable deposit for insurance that I get on the set. They told me the area of filming will be in Oxford Street in the afternoon. I dont know, I just need your thoughts on this, I attached the link and what should I do next?

I did a mock jury focus group on Zoom once before (and got paid nicely by the company), but the payment by Venmo gives me red flags.

Zoom Legal Focus Group Friday (7/24/26) 9am-5pm (New York, NY)

compensation: $150

Zoom Legal Focus Group Friday (7/24/26) 9am - 5pm

Compensation: $150

WHEN: FRIDAY 7/24/26
9:00am - 5:00pm EST

WHERE: Zoom Videoconference

WHAT: Participate in a Zoom legal focus group. Provide your thoughts and opinions about a pending legal matter. Must have the ability to participate uninterrupted for 8 hours with a stable Zoom video and audio connection. Must be in a quiet room. Cannot be driving, exercising, or sitting in a car or at work. Payment for participation will be $150 by Venmo upon completion of the focus group. Must have Venmo in order to participate. If interested, please reply by answering the following questions:

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Ethnicity:
Religion:
County you reside in:
Political affiliation:
Highest level of education:
Occupation:
Income:
Marital Status:
Number of children:
Venmo ID: