How to Verify a Transaction on Craigslist (2024)

FAQs

How to Verify a Transaction on Craigslist? ›

Count the money in the public location that you've chosen to meet to verify that the money is all there. This is the only way to verify that your transaction is legitimate, and an honest seller will have no problem allowing you to take the necessary precautions to ensure you're getting what you are paying for.

If an ad offers an item for sale that doesn't match the image, it's likely a scam. Don't send money to someone offering a deal from out of your local area. Avoid ads with multiple misspellings or grammar errors. Make sure the seller is willing to meet in person.

Verification code: This scam is relatively new, and it's extra dangerous. The buyer or seller says they're a bit nervous about going through with the deal, and they ask to send you a verification code by text message (which ends up being a type of two-factor authentication text).

Use cash — safely

If you're dealing with a local, the most secure way to pay or collect funds for a Craigslist transaction is with cash.

Once scammers know your number, they can target you with phishing texts and calls, or trick you into downloading malware and giving up personal information. And once they gain access to your personally identifiable information (PII), it doesn't take much more to access your financial (and other sensitive) accounts.

If something or someone seems “too good to be true”, there's a good chance they're trying to scam you. Try to be personal but something is off — Online scammers will pretend to be a friend or family member to quickly gain your trust. But they aren't.

“Can I send you a code to make sure you're not a fake?” Don't be fooled- the person sending the texts knows you aren't the scammer, but wants to scam you. Sgt. Keith Horrocks says scams like this one have been pretty pervasive since the advent of the internet.

Case in point, when you're placing an ad or responding to an ad, avoid using your personal phone number to communicate with buyers or sellers.

Stories like this happen over and over again. Scammers bypass your natural suspicions by pretending to be cautious themselves, asking for “verification” from their targets. But although they claim to be protecting themselves from a scam, it's just an excuse to request your private information.

What is the best payment method to not get scammed? ›

By and large, credit cards are easily the most secure and safe payment method to use when you shop online. Credit cards use online security features like encryption and fraud monitoring to keep your accounts and personal information safe.

Craigslist scams. The scammer had persuaded the victims to sign a phony lease and even pay a hefty security deposit. Since most peer-to-peer payment apps (like Zelle) offer instant, irreversible transfers, they're an obvious choice for scammers.

If you are a seller, you're taking a significant risk by accepting Venmo payments. Remember, Venmo says you shouldn't use the app for informal sales, like Craigslist or Facebook market. The company can reverse Venmo payments you receive after they hit your account.

Let buyers know upfront what form(s) of payment you'll accept. Cash is recommended, as well as cashier's checks in certain circ*mstances — but only if you can oversee the buyer while they obtain cash or a cashier's check at their bank. Other forms of payment can bounce or may be forged.

Many buyers know this. So in the hopes of beating out other potential buyers, they'll ask for a phone number to text/call and work out a deal.

Is it safe to accept Paypal on Craiglist? No! It's only safe to accept PayPal if you ship goods to the PayPal verified address of the person making the payment. If you deliver the goods in person or to a 3rd party (such as a “shipping company”) the PayPal fraud protection does not apply.

The scammer is, in reality, going through the Google Voice setup process. They tell Google Voice to call your personal number, and then the call speaks the code, or the text message supplies the code, along with a warning to not share the code with anyone.

Six-digit PINs have been shown to be no more secure than four-digit ones. As Philipp Markert explains, "Mathematically speaking, of course, there is a tremendous difference." Ten thousand four-digit PINs and one million six-digit PINs may be generated, respectively.

A six-digit phone number is referred to as a short code (there are also some instances of 5-digit short codes). These short code numbers were created by the major wireless carriers in 2003 to allow marketers to easily communicate things like promotional offers or important alerts to consumers.

With these being 6 digits long & assuming that you get at least 3 tries to enter there's a 1 in 333,333 chance that a malicious user could correctly guess the digits.