Posted on 03/24/2008 9:55:48 AM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Oregon man's property ransacked after Craigslist hoax
Monday, March 24, 2008
Associated Press
JACKSONVILLE, Ore. -- A pair of hoax ads on Craigslist cost an Oregon man much of what he owned.
The ads popped up Saturday afternoon, saying the owner of a Jacksonville home was forced to leave the area suddenly and his belongings, including a horse, were free for the taking, said Jackson County sheriff's Detective Sgt. Colin Fagan.
But Robert Salisbury had no plans to leave. The independent contractor was at Emigrant Lake when he got a call from a woman who had stopped by his house to claim his horse.
(Excerpt) Read more at kgw.com ...
Wow, did you really? Congrats!
>>That is like saying Orbitz has no responsibility for making sure the car rental firms on their site are valid companies.<<
No. It’s not. It is a completely different business model and paradigm - and anyone that has been to both sites knows it.
You don’t need a CDL to drive a pickup. There is a reason for that.
You probably don’t use Craigs list.
There is a lot of stuff listed there for free. I myself have listed things there for free, just to be rid of them. Most recently, a water pressure tank I didn’t want.
Let me perhaps bring this a little closer to home for you.
Let’s say someone posts on Free Republic the following:
“Donate to the Republicans, they’ll shrink the size of government.”
So I donate. And then they do the opposite.
Under your theory, Free Republic would be responsible as it “participated” in the scam.
Under common sense, however... you can see where this would all lead.
Bears repeating.
Anyone that gets screwed by something they do on CL sort of deserves it. Caveot emptor.
Here is the top six from their “warning” page:
DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON - follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99% of the scam attempts on craigslist.
NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service - anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.
FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.
CRAIGSLIST IS NOT INVOLVED IN ANY TRANSACTION, and does not handle payments, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer “buyer protection” or “seller certification”
NEVER GIVE OUT FINANCIAL INFORMATION (bank account number, social security number, eBay/PayPal info, etc.)
AVOID DEALS INVOLVING SHIPPING OR ESCROW SERVICES and know that ONLY A SCAMMER WILL “GUARANTEE” YOUR TRANSACTION. Seems like pretty good advice to me. ;) One of the main reasons I use CL instead of Ebay is that I meet IN PERSON the other party. Just like the old days. Pretty had to screw up that sort of thing unless it is good old fashioned fraud (like sawdust in the transmission).
>>I would ask the restaurant manager if he/she had any other information, yes. In this particular case, the people knew where the puppies were, so to speak.<<
And what would the restaurant owner have told you in this case? Maybe he would have said, well, sure looks odd, but there IS an address.
>>If there were something criminal on the bulletin board, and it came to my attention, I would approach the manager and let him/her know in no uncertain terms that, since the bulletin board is in his/her restaurant, I would expect him/her to keep tabs on what is posted on it. If he/she doesn’t have time for that, then the bulletin board should be removed.<<
That whole statement, and especially the last one, is one of the most goofy, anti-freedom, anti-personal-responsibility statements I have ever seen on this particular site (other than quickly zotted threads).
Based on your statement, I can only assume you are voting for Obama, and proud of it.
Life is risk.
On his way home he stopped a truck loaded down with his work ladders, lawn mower and weed eater.
"I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give the stuff back," Salisbury said. "They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did."
The driver then sped away after rebuking Salisbury. On his way home he spotted other cars filled with his belongings. Upon pulling into his driveway he was greeted by close to 30 people rummaging through his barn and front porch.
"They were like a pack of vultures," he said.
Salisbury blocked his driveway and ordered everyone to leave his property. The trespassers, armed with printouts of the ad, tried to brush him off.
"They honestly thought that because it appeared on the Internet it was true," Salisbury said. "It boggles the mind."
Some attempted to lie saying the home's owner had just left after instructing them to take whatever they wanted, Salisbury said.
"No one told me the truth," he said. "Eventually, I lost my temper."
Jacksonville police and Jackson County sheriff's deputies soon arrived to restore order. By then, however, several cars packed with Salisbury's property had fled.
He did managed to collect license plate numbers, which he turned over to sheriff's detectives.
Michelle Easley had seen the ad earlier that day. It claimed Salisbury's horse had been declared abandoned by the sheriff's department and was free to anyone who could give it a home.
"I can't stand to see a horse suffer so I drove out there and got her," Easley said. "The horse didn't look abandoned. She is in good shape for being 32 years old."
The strangeness of the situation inspired Easley to leave a note on Salisbury's door explaining the ad. She then decided to call him to ensure the ad was legitimate when the second ad appeared claiming everything on the property was fair game.
"I feel bad because I was a part of it," Easley said. "It felt right to call the police."
Fagan praised Easley's honestly, but had stronger words for anyone who plans on keeping Salisbury's property.
"This is completely unacceptable," Fagan said. "Anyone who knowingly keeps any of these items will be prosecuted with the full extent of our resources."
Still think they shouldn't be prosecuted MEGoody????
Oh, I couldn't agree more!
I have used Craigslist, I also wouldn't for one second think about showing up at a person's house un-announced and start ransacking their place. But then again I don't have a felonious personality either.
I remember a very old saying, "If it looks too good to be true, it probably isn't."
“They honestly thought that because it appeared on the Internet it was true,” Salisbury said. “It boggles the mind.”
Yes it does.
No wonder we have the government we have. These utter morons actually vote.
Come to think of it, this explains Oregon quite a bit. ;)
Craig’s list should verify every poster or be shut down. They can claim all the free speech and lack of liability they want, but if they have now become a conduit for criminal behavior then they have no right to continue to operate the way the currently do.
Create something that doesn’t force people to take responsibility for their actions, and millions of people will use it irresponsibly.
This will lead to laws forcing posters to use their real names.
>>Craig’s list should verify every poster or be shut down.<<
I’m really glad I didn’t elect you emperor. With freedom comes risk. As a free thinking adult that actuall DOES have the common sense God gave human beings, I accept that risk.
>>...if they have now become a conduit for criminal behavior then they have no right to continue to operate the way the currently do.<<
The road to every home and business is a conduit for criminal behavior. Should they be shut down as well?
And the death knell of personal liberty has been sounded in America.
>>This will lead to laws forcing posters to use their real names.<<
If it happens enough, yes.
“The less virtuous a people, the greater it’s need for laws.”
And no doubt they breed as well.
I just bought a $2,000 love seat, used less than 1 month for $150.
Looked too good to be true to me.
Turned out I knew the sellers, legit sale, they just didn’t want it anymore.
I’ve had that happen too. But as I suspected is true in your case, I actually had a dialogue with the owners.
‘Course, if you didn’t know them, it could have been “hot”. I wonder if Craigslist, ebay or even the logal paper would be responsible for that. Or, more precicely, if any here thinks they SHOULD BE.
I don’t think the communication medium should be held responsible in most cases.
Sorry, I was using your comments more as a sounding board than to aim them at you specifically.
And in that spirit, if Craigslist were to be held accountable, it would simply go away. They had a 40’ Diving board cut down where I used to swim in the 1970’s. It had been there since the 1930s but the resort could no longer afford the insurance - even though nobody was ever seriously injured there.
This is a pet peeve of mine. If we held every business accountable for every stupid thing that happened to every moron that stepped on their premisis or used their product, we would still be livin in caves.
This infantile coddled generation needs to grow up. Seriously.
But I think the soon coming economy will be very, very instructive for many that desperately need the education.
IOW, things will get better, but first they will get worse.
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