Craigslist craigslist.com, you know it, I know it. It’s one of the largest sites in the world and I would bet that most of us, have bought or sold items from craigslist or at least know people that have. Internet marketplaces like this are a great resource. Need affordable furniture? Craigslist. Need a magician for a party. Craigslist. Need a job, concert tickets, a car, that rare, 1st pressing vinyl of Brand New’s 1st record? It’s all on craigslist. But with everything good, simple and convenient about craigslist, there’s also that small voice in the back of your head. What if this is a scam? What if this faceless person is selling me something stolen? Because it’s so easy and accessible, so much could go wrong. For example, there’s this guy Robert, lives in Jacksonville, Oregon and he came home from work one day to a line of cars at his house and about 30 people on his property, packing almost everything he owned into their cars. Someone had stolen tools, his swing on the front porch and even his horse. He started confronting people, screaming what are you doing? This is my stuff! This is my house. He was told about this ad, on craigslist that had his address on it saying that robert was being forced to leave and everything had to go. For Free. First come first serve. If you can take it, it’s yours. Robert had never been on craigslist and knew nothing about it, but thousands of dollars in property was taken that day. The legal team at Craigslist was able to trace the ads and a couple was arrested 5 days later. Turns out, this married couple had actually earlier that week stolen horse saddles from Robert’s barn and to cover up their robbery, they posted the ad on craigslist. It was a pretty sinister hoax, but robert ended up getting most of his stuff back by the people that unknowingly stole from him that day. Today on the show, stories like this one, going deep into craigslist to find the scams, hoaxes, criminals and the people that aren’t putting up with it This is PNWcast, you’re listening to Episode 20