Craigslist in Las Vegas is particularly dangerous because of how many criminal organizations use it and sites like Backpage to solicit vulnerable girls into prostitution and then traffic them in the city and throughout the world.
In August , David Coil, year-old Las Vegas man, used ads on the personals section of Las Vegas Craigslist to lure teenage girls into sex trafficking. In June , four people were arrested after a Craigslist dishwasher sale turned into a botched robbery.
One person was arrested after police found drugs in his car. The scammers place ads in the rental section and then break into local foreclosures. When unsuspecting renters show up they either rob the people who think they are going to look at a property, or they give the person a set of keys, take the money, and are never seen again. Some people have actually moved into these homes, only to find out they did not have a valid lease. In , Henderson police arrested three people who used Craigslist to lure a man to a vacant home where they then kidnapped him, assaulted him, and robbed him of his belongings.
They lured the victim to the home using the Craigslist personals section. He arrived at the home thinking he was meeting the person in the ad but was met by three criminals instead. Most legitimate people are going to list some information about themselves or provide you with a name, phone number, or address. Once you have that info, use it to look the person up online. Most of the criminals on Craigslist are looking for easy targets; they are not very likely to rob you in a coffee shop full of people.
A lot of these Craigslist scams are pretty easy to spot. If the deal sounds too good to be true, you are better off passing. If the price is half the price of similar items on the site, you are either buying a stolen product or on your way to meet someone who is about to take your cash forcibly. If you arrive at the predetermined meeting point and the seller asks you to go to another place or follow him somewhere, this should raise some serious red flags.
