Posts
4647
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
90 MILES SOUTH-ISH, FL
US
Edited Date/Time
1/18/2012 4:00am
Be careful out there. Especially if your selling a dirt scooter if Ohio.
The sleepy suburban neighborhood in Bogota, N.J., looked safe when Michael pulled up to meet the man who had offered to buy his MacBook after seeing an ad on Craigslist. And everything seemed perfectly normal when the buyer walked up to his car and began counting out cash.
But then a second man appeared seemingly out of nowhere and shoved a shotgun in Michael's face.
"It was pretty terrifying," said Michael, who let the pair take the computer from his trunk, then watched them run off into the night. "I thought they were going to take the car."
The robbery is just one example of a disturbing new kind of theft that blends cybercrime with the physical dangers of real crime. Across the country, Craigslist users who agree to meetings in seemingly safe places are being robbed at gunpoint, pistol-whipped and, in at least one case, murdered. In Chicago, police call it "robbery by appointment."
Just last week, the city of Oakland, Calif., issued a wide-ranging warning about Craigslist-related car sales. A gang there has progressed from one theft per week to one per day, stealing thousands of dollars from victims using ads on Craigslist to lure them into meetings. The police now have an entire investigative team dedicated to tracking them down.
"They are getting more blatant and violent," said Oakland police spokeswoman Holly Joshi. "The last (victim) got pretty beat up. Right now it's a top priority for us."
Craigslist robbers appear to be much more sophisticated than the criminals that Web users routinely encounter. Their ads are indistinguishable from normal for sale items, Joshi said. They return phone calls using local phone numbers; they offer to meet in public places, foiling much of the "safe surfing" advice that's been given for years.
Among the more disturbing elements of the crimes: Many are taking place in broad daylight or early evening hours, and in what seem to be safe neighborhoods.
"Meeting in a public place really is not good enough," Joshi warned. She said most crimes there are occurring between 2 and 6 p.m. "Residential areas can be relatively isolated during the day."
That's what happened to Michael, who asked that his last name be withheld. He met his suspects in a nice neighborhood in Bogata, about 10 miles west of New York City, only a few blocks from the police station -- but the block itself was quiet and empty during the incident.
Nothing seemed unusual about the transaction until the gun appeared, Michael said. But in retrospect, he thinks he should have been surprised that the buyers didn't make any attempts to negotiate the price with him.
"They were just very concerned with setting up a meeting," he said. "That was the only thing that was strange."
Michael got off easy, losing only his used computer. A scan of incidents around the country show much more dire consequences for some other Craigslist users.
In Raleigh, N.C., a man's car was sprayed with bullets by Craigslist robbers earlier last year, while a woman in Newport Beach, Calif., was pistol whipped during an alleged bicycle sale. There have been a string of dirt-bike related Craigslist robberies in Ohio, and just before Christmas, an Ohio man was shot in the jaw during one incident. In Stafford, Va., criminals allegedly selling deep-discounted iPhones brazenly invited consumers to meet them on the steps of the county courthouse. And in Sarasota, Fla., police issued a warning on New Year's Eve after a similar string of iPhone-related armed robberies.
Full Story
The sleepy suburban neighborhood in Bogota, N.J., looked safe when Michael pulled up to meet the man who had offered to buy his MacBook after seeing an ad on Craigslist. And everything seemed perfectly normal when the buyer walked up to his car and began counting out cash.
But then a second man appeared seemingly out of nowhere and shoved a shotgun in Michael's face.
"It was pretty terrifying," said Michael, who let the pair take the computer from his trunk, then watched them run off into the night. "I thought they were going to take the car."
The robbery is just one example of a disturbing new kind of theft that blends cybercrime with the physical dangers of real crime. Across the country, Craigslist users who agree to meetings in seemingly safe places are being robbed at gunpoint, pistol-whipped and, in at least one case, murdered. In Chicago, police call it "robbery by appointment."
Just last week, the city of Oakland, Calif., issued a wide-ranging warning about Craigslist-related car sales. A gang there has progressed from one theft per week to one per day, stealing thousands of dollars from victims using ads on Craigslist to lure them into meetings. The police now have an entire investigative team dedicated to tracking them down.
"They are getting more blatant and violent," said Oakland police spokeswoman Holly Joshi. "The last (victim) got pretty beat up. Right now it's a top priority for us."
Craigslist robbers appear to be much more sophisticated than the criminals that Web users routinely encounter. Their ads are indistinguishable from normal for sale items, Joshi said. They return phone calls using local phone numbers; they offer to meet in public places, foiling much of the "safe surfing" advice that's been given for years.
Among the more disturbing elements of the crimes: Many are taking place in broad daylight or early evening hours, and in what seem to be safe neighborhoods.
"Meeting in a public place really is not good enough," Joshi warned. She said most crimes there are occurring between 2 and 6 p.m. "Residential areas can be relatively isolated during the day."
That's what happened to Michael, who asked that his last name be withheld. He met his suspects in a nice neighborhood in Bogata, about 10 miles west of New York City, only a few blocks from the police station -- but the block itself was quiet and empty during the incident.
Nothing seemed unusual about the transaction until the gun appeared, Michael said. But in retrospect, he thinks he should have been surprised that the buyers didn't make any attempts to negotiate the price with him.
"They were just very concerned with setting up a meeting," he said. "That was the only thing that was strange."
Michael got off easy, losing only his used computer. A scan of incidents around the country show much more dire consequences for some other Craigslist users.
In Raleigh, N.C., a man's car was sprayed with bullets by Craigslist robbers earlier last year, while a woman in Newport Beach, Calif., was pistol whipped during an alleged bicycle sale. There have been a string of dirt-bike related Craigslist robberies in Ohio, and just before Christmas, an Ohio man was shot in the jaw during one incident. In Stafford, Va., criminals allegedly selling deep-discounted iPhones brazenly invited consumers to meet them on the steps of the county courthouse. And in Sarasota, Fla., police issued a warning on New Year's Eve after a similar string of iPhone-related armed robberies.
Full Story
As it turned out, they were stealing the bike and had done this similar scam in the past.
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