Five Money Scams to Watch Out for on Craigslist Youngstown
Youngstown, Ohio is a city of residents who frequently use the regional Craigslist online ads to let people know when they have furniture, cars, RVs or other items for sale. It’s also a place where realtors and private homeowners list rentals or homes for sale. Thousands of successful transactions are conducted through the site with both parties pleased about the sale or acquisition. While most people who use the site are honest, there are those who are seeking vulnerable and trusting people to victimize. The number of scams appearing on the site is increasing. Here are five money scams to watch out for on Craigslist Youngstown.
1. Warning about Craigslist scams from Attorney General
The Attorney General in Columbus is warning about a rash of Craigslist scams that have been targeting Craigslist users in the Youngstown area. There have been so many scams and frauds recently that he has established a financial cybercrime unit that specializes in trying to track down these scammers and hold them accountable for ripping people in the area off. You must be careful when responding to an ad on the site or when dealing with a person that you don’t know. They can be convincing. You’re at risk whether you’re selling or buying.
2. Housing Scams on Craigslist Youngstown to be wary of
This is an advertisement that appears to be legitimate. It’s a house that is owned by a company named Vision Property Management of South Carolina. Although it may look like the company is offering good deals on housing, it has been researched and found to be a scam that is being perpetrated by predatory agents. The company swoops in and purchases the properties cheaply, then inflate the prices. They use unregulated predatory practices and have taken advantage of innocent low-income people and they target minority neighborhoods most often.
3. Police looking for Craigslist scammers
Police are looking for suspects wanted in connection with a Craigslist scam in Youngstown, Ohio. The scammers placed ads on the site in order to lure victims into vacant houses so they could rob them. They placed an advertisement for a large screen television on Craigslist. When people responded to the ads with an interest in seeing and possibly purchasing the television, they would then make arrangements to meet the potential buyers, whom they believed would be carrying the cash to buy the television, to a vacant house. Two victims from out of the area fell for the trick. When they arrived there was no television there. They were then approached by two black males. One of the victims was held at gunpoint. Although nobody was injured and the suspects fled without getting any money, it was an attempted robbery.
4. Youngstown Scam Alert
There is a company called Precast construction that is advertising a need for employees. This ad is a warning against working for them. According to this victim, the company will employ you and then cheat you on your paycheck and pay you less than the agreed upon amount. This is an example of how scammers aren’t only trying to steal your money. They also try to steal your time and cheat you in other ways.
5. Police Chief Warns of Youngstown Craigslist Scams
There has been a rash of scams circulating through the Craigslist ads for Youngstown, Ohio. The Police Chief is concerned enough to issue a warning to all local residents. Scammers are taking a new approach to con people by showing an interest in something that a person has for sale on the site. They make contact and agree to purchase the item for an agreed upon price. They mail a check that is for far over the agreed upon price. They instruct the seller to cash the check, take out the fee for mailing the item and then wire the rest of the money to them. The checks are fake and a few days after they are cashed they bounce. The person who cashed the check is responsible for covering the bad check and all NSF fees in this vile money scam.