Craigslist Bots
PSA: Beware of Phishing Bots : r/craigslist – Reddit
I’m not sure if all the selling sites and apps are having this issue, but I’ve been trying to sell an item on both Craigslist and Letgo, and I am receiving the same offer from what I believe are phishing bots that sell your information. How I think it works, and please correct me if I’m wrong, is that:You post your item on a site/ scans for new ssages/Emails person selling item to text them instead. *** This is when they get your phone number. ***Bot will reply with “How low can you go? “You responds with “Sounds good. Consider it sold! Can you send me your address along with your name so I can send you a cashier’s check? I will arrange the pickup now. Thanks! ” *** This is when they get your name and address. ***I haven’t gotten further than this but the same messaging seems sketchy. I just wanted to make everyone aware to not give out your information so easily. Has this happened to anyone else selling?
How to Spot Bot-Generated Craigslist Scams – FindLaw
The internet has the potential to bring people together for all sorts of purposes., for example, helps people connect, find jobs, and even buy and sell stuff. Unfortunately, Craigslist is also a haven for scammers and criminals.
Apart from the concern of buying stolen goods, users must be wary of the spammers that have also started to exploit Craigslist in order to perpetrate a host of different types of scams. One of the first things that scammers try to do is route out the most gullible. One way they accomplish this is by creating a massive amount of fake, low quality ads. Frequently the ads are created by bots, or programs that live on the internet and perform tasks that their makers assign. If a person responds to an ad that is clearly bot generated, there is a good chance a scammer will reach out and attempt some sort of Can You Tell If an Ad Is Bot Generated?
Typically, bot-generated ads will look and read suspiciously. While a normal, real ad might have a few spelling or grammar errors, bot errors tend to be somewhat interesting. Oftentimes, bots will use standardized information pulled from the web about a product, but then interject random adjectives. Real ads tend to be short and to the point, while bot ads can be unnecessarily long and include useless and seemingly random information.
Additionally, bot-generated ads will often have odd spacing on the page, or be formatted strangely, or just be simply too good to be true. They are designed to stand out and entice the un-savvy to reply. Frequently, bot-generated ads will have photos that can help you identify whether the ad is legitimate. Tools such as google’s image search allow you to search the internet for images. The bots tend to use images that are already on the internet, so if a google image search returns results for the image, you should probably be suspicious.
How to Prevent Being Scammed Through Craigslist Bot Ads
The rule of thumb for Craigslist is to avoid any non person-to-person, face-to-face transactions. Don’t exchange money unless you meet in person, and only meet in person in public places where safety can be ensured. Craigslist warns its users not to accept cashier’s checks, or money orders, or to agree to wire anyone money, ever.
Related Resources:
Find an Attorney Near You (FindLaw’s Lawyer Directory)
Craigslist Scam Alert: 5 Signs a Con Artist Is Replying to Your Ad (FindLaw’s Common Law)
5 Tips to Protect Yourself When Using Craigslist (FindLaw’s Common Law)
Fake Craigslist Job Ads May Lead to Identity Theft (FindLaw’s Common Law)
Content For You
How to Set Up Craigslist Alerts (for Email or SMS) – HowToGeek
Whether you’re looking for apartments or used gadgets on Craigslist, you don’t have to keep checking the website. You can stay on top of things by getting notified when new posts go up that match your searches.
How to Get Email Notifications
Craigslist has built-in email alerts. You can get an email alert for any Craigslist search, and it’s free.
To set up email notifications, just head to the Craigslist website and perform whatever search you want. For example, you might pick a city, select the apartments for rent section, enter how many bedrooms you want, and provide the maximum amount of rent you’re willing to pay per month.
The official Craigslist alerts FAQ says that the more specific your search, the more often it will run and the more alerts you’ll get. In other words, if you’re searching for all cars for sale in a city, Craigslist will check for new posts less often than if you’re searching for only a specific model of car.
After you’ve performed your search, click “Save Search” to the right of the search bar on the Craigslist website. This same option appears right by the search box on the Craigslist mobile website, too.
If you’re not already signed in to Craigslist, you’ll be prompted to either sign in or create an account. If you don’t yet have an account, it’s easy and quick to create one.
You’re then taken to the Searches page in your Craigslist account settings. To activate email alerts for the search you just saved, click the “Alert” checkbox to the left of the search.
Checking the “Alert” box activates email notifications for that search. They’re sent to the email address associated with your Craigslist account, so keep an eye out for the emails.
Remember, the more specific your search, the more often Craigslist checks for new posts and emails them to you.
You can see all the searches for which you’re receiving emails, as well as deactivate, edit, or delete those searches.
How to Set Up SMS Alerts
Craigslist doesn’t have built-in SMS alerts, but you can set up your own with the popular IFTTT (If This, Then That) service. This is useful if you want instant notifications of new Craigslist posts on your phone without having to check your email.
Update: IFTTT no longer offers SMS alerts. However, if you install the IFTTT app on your phone, you can set up push notification alerts instead. Follow the below process but choose notifications instead of SMS as your action.
To do this, head to the IFTTT website and create an account if you haven’t already done so. After you’re signed in to your IFTTT account, click “My Applets” and then click “New Applet. ” You can also do this in the IFTTT app for iPhone or Android, or on the mobile website.
On the New Applet page, click the “This” link.
Search for “Classifieds” and click the “Classifieds” option.
Select “New Post From Search. ”
Copy-and-paste the search results address from Craigslist into the box here. To get this address, head to Craigslist and search for whatever you want. Select the web address in your browser’s address bar and copy it.
When you’re done, click “Create Trigger. ”
Next, click the “That” link to set up what happens when the trigger is activated.
Click the “SMS” option in the list of services.
Click “Send Me an SMS. ”
With the default settings, you’ll receive an SMS with the title of each post and a clickable link. Click “Create Action” to accept this.
You’ve now created your action, and you can click “Finish. ”
Ensure the applet is set to “On” on the final page. If you ever want to disable the applet, you can head to the My Applets page on the IFTTT website to toggle applets on and off.
To choose the phone number where those searches are going, head to the SMS Settings page and enter your phone number.
The IFTTT service also has a premade recipe that automatically sends you smartphone notifications from Craigslist searches if you have the IFTTT app on your phone. If you’d prefer to receive push notifications about new posts matching your search than SMS messages, this also works well.
This is a good example of what you can do with IFTTT, too. You can either head to the IFTTT website and choose a premade applet or string together an applet you like by combining a trigger and an action.
RELATED: How to Automate Your Favorite Apps with IFTTT
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Frequently Asked Questions about craigslist bots
Does Craigslist have bots?
The internet has the potential to bring people together for all sorts of purposes. Craigslist.org, for example, helps people connect, find jobs, and even buy and sell stuff. … Frequently the ads are created by bots, or programs that live on the internet and perform tasks that their makers assign.Nov 10, 2016
How do I set up a bot on Craigslist?
To get this address, head to Craigslist and search for whatever you want. Select the web address in your browser’s address bar and copy it. When you’re done, click “Create Trigger.” Next, click the “That” link to set up what happens when the trigger is activated.Jul 8, 2019
How do you know if a Craigslist response is real?
Knowing how scammers respond to ads is helpful to both those posting the ad and for legitimate buyers to avoid looking like a scammer with their inquiries.Red Flag #1: Vague posting. … Red Flag #2: Out of town. … Red Flag #3: No negotiations. … Red Flag #4: Offering extra money. … Red Flag #5: Strange words or grammar.More items…•Jan 25, 2021
