Five Money Scams to Watch out for on Craigslist Orlando
Craigslist is notorious for scammers. If you don’t have the natural ability to discern whether something on Craigslist is legitimate or not, you’re truly better off not being on the site at all. There have been so many different types of scams on Craigslist that has affected many people’s lives in the Orlando area, and there really is no clear solution to the matter. There are plenty of loopholes in the platform, and scammers are taking advantage of them. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have a legitimate transaction on the website—you can. You just have to be extremely careful in order not to fall for any cons. Just so you have an idea of what not to look for, here are the five craziest scams on Craigslist Orlando.
1. Part-time job scam
If a laundering scheme lands on your lap and warning lights are not flashing in your head, then there’s something wrong. Most money laundering schemes are fairly apparent, but there are people who aren’t aware of how they happen. There have been job listings on Craigslist Orlando that feature a part-time job as a personal assistant. According to these listings, the assistant’s responsibility is to bid the boss’ shopping. Everything will be paid for by the boss, including a weekly salary of $400 for 15 hours worth of shopping. Whatever is bought will then be sent to the boss via UPS. If that’s smells fishy to you, it’s because it is. All will be well in that gig until law enforcement catches on.
2. Intentional overpayment scam
Perhaps this is one of the most common scams out there, but Orlando Craigslist scammers are known to overpay for everything. In this scam, a payer will write a check for more than what’s due. For example, someone might write his landlord a check with double the amount of what’s due. The same person could very well claim the mistake and ask for the landlord to wire the difference back. Of course the wire transfer will go through before the bank realizes that the check is fraudulent. This happens in the area more than it should, so just beware.
3. Robbery upon appointment scam
This is also one of the most reported scams on Craigslist Orlando. Some people may say that the best way to make sure that a Craigslist transaction is legitimate is to meet your buyer or seller face-to-face. However, it’s been proven that this could be just as equally fraudulent and even dangerous. Many people have been robbed after going to a preplanned meeting. If this is a buy/sell case, scammers know that there’s money involved, so most of the time, the scammers take the money without giving any products in exchange. There’s also danger in this in the fact that you never know whom you’re really meeting up with.
4. Background check scam
Again, many people in the Orlando area use Craigslist to find homes for sale or rental homes. It’s easy to be fooled with pictures, but some scammers have gone so far as actually having a physical home to scam with in case people wanted to check. Scammers will approve or pre-approve families for their home and order a background check for a certain price. The entire thing is obviously bogus, but the scammers still collect money for the background check and then proceed to tell the bad news to the families that they had been denied of their dream home. It’s a truly vicious cycle that benefits only the scammers and no one else.
5. Fake vacation listings scam
Orlando is one of the vacation capitals of the world. This is what Craigslist scammers have capitalized on to make money by posting fake vacation listings on the website. There are people who use Craigslist for cheaper prices on vacation rentals. However, scammers have been known to put up fake photos of houses with completely falsified information. These scammers will require you to probably wire a deposit in order to secure the listing. This is money that you’ll probably never see again. It’s also probably safest to just avoid Craigslist altogether when trying to book a vacation rental in Orlando. There are plenty of other affordable options you could securely book online from other legitimate rental websites.
Guide to Using Craigslist Orlando The Right Way
When it comes to selling things in Orlando, you could certainly try to have a garage sale. You might get some takers, but not at the level that you can achieve online. This is yet another area where technology has made life easier and it has brought together buyers and sellers in ways that were never before envisioned. You will find that Craigslist Orlando is every bit the garage sale that you remember, all without having to get up at 4 in the morning just to set the tables up. At the same time, you do need to know how to make effective use of this site in order to get the maximum benefit out of it.
Craigslist Orlando Explained
There are times when you want to buy something, but you are not willing to pay the price that comes with getting it new. That is when Craigslist Orlando can become your best friend. This is an online garage sale of sorts where people can advertise virtually anything that they have to sell. You can certainly do that as well, or you can become a buyer. No matter what you use the site for, it is free. This is one of the most appealing aspects of it. The site itself divides merchandise out by category, making it much easier to locate something that you are looking for. You can also just browse through the various categories to see if anything strikes out at you as being something that you want. You can often get some great deals at Craigslist Orlando, and remember that the price is always negotiable until an offer has been accepted.
Selling things with Craigslist is actually quite easy. There are no fees involved. You just need to go register at the site and submit a new posting. Keep in mind that you will need a confirmed email address in order to make a posting. This is how the site will communicate with you, and it is how prospective buys till convey their interest to you initially as well. Once you have posted, it does go through a brief review process. Check your email an hour or two after you have submitted your ad to the site to get a status update. Once the posting is live, anyone going to Craigslist Orlando can see what you have posted and begin making offers. If you are just want to look for something to buy on the site, there is no registration required. You can contact the seller of any given product directly from the posting. Again, the entire site is free so shop away.
Pictures Can Be Added
If you want to be successful on Craigslist Orlando, you will want to focus on your posting itself. This is where you have the opportunity to really promote that product that you wish to sell. You want to represent it honestly and accurately. This is part of remaining safe online as well. You do not want to earn a reputation of trying to deceive prospective buyers. That could also lead to disagreements down the road. Likewise, you want to stay away from contacting sellers who you feel are engaging in fraudulent activities online. You need to be safe. If an ad sounds way to good to be true, or something about it just seems fishy, then stay away. There will always be another posting that comes along that will make you feel much more comfortable.
When you go to submit your ad as a seller, remember to add pictures. This can easily be done from the site itself. This is a great way to showcase what you have to sell, and it adds legitimacy to your posting. People are more likely to contact you if you have pictures to show them right from the beginning.
Stay Safe
When you use Craigslist Orlando, either as a buyer or a seller, there are certain things that you can do to stay safe. When at all possible, meet contacts in a public location. There are plenty of places around Orlando where you can feel safe as you meet someone new. If you must meet someone at a personal home because of the nature of the item being sold, make sure you take someone with you. If you are the seller, leave the door open at all times and try to make sure that someone is home with you. Meeting during daytime hours is always advisable.
