Craigslist can be a very valuable online community for those who
are looking for a variety of options including jobs, products,
services, personal connections or housing opportunities. Users of
this community can find all of the above listed opportunities and
can also meet others and network or discuss important issues.
However, because Craigslist is an online community there is always
the opportunity for scammers and predators to be lurking on Craigslist.
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Craigslist has approximately four billion page views per month and
approximately ten million visitors each month. The majority of these
visitors likely have no harmful intentions but there is a small
percentage, as on any online community, who may be seeking to harm others
either physically or financially. There are, however, a number of very
worthwhile reasons to use the Craigslist community for finding more
information on career possibilities, meeting platonic friends or romantic
partners or purchasing products or services. This article will take a
look at why Craigslist is so useful but will also offer sage advice on
how to protect yourself while using Craigslist.
Why Choose Craigslist for Online Searches
Many might wonder why Craigslist is so appealing. While there are other
websites which focus exclusively on job searches, product purchases or
meeting potential platonic friends or partners, Craigslist is unique in
that it provides one convenient location for all of these types of searches
and more. Craigslist might have started as a small operation focusing
exclusively on the events going on in the San Francisco Bay Area but has
since mushroomed into a much larger community with websites specific to
different geographic regions.
The different websites focusing on specific geographic regions makes
Craigslist an excellent resource because the users can communicate with
those in their area directly instead of having to search through a larger
database to find information on people, products and events in their area.
How to Protect Yourself on Craigslist
Craigslist is not anymore dangerous than other online communities. As with
an Internet gathering place, the biggest problem is the ease in which
individuals can disguise themselves and trick others into believing they
are trustworthy when they are not. This applies both to individuals who
seek to physically harm others as well as those who have intentions to
scam others out of money or tangible items.
One of the best ways to protect yourself on Craigslist, or any online
community, is to safeguard your personal information. This means information
such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers
and other similar numbers should not be given out unless the individual
is positive who will be receiving the information and that it is being
transmitted over a secure server. This is important because this information
can be used for identity theft or other fraudulent purposes.
Care should also be taken to avoid giving out personal information such as
full name, address and phone number. This is especially important because
such information could be used by someone with malicious intent to locate
an individual. While name, address and phone number are obvious pieces of
information which should be safeguarded, it is important to note other
pieces of information could be used to find a person. For example a person
can be identified and located by supplying seemingly harmless information
such as a first name, where high school was attended and year of graduation.
Determined criminals can use this information to deduce the last name of the
person which could lead to finding their address and using this information
to harm or harass the individual.
Written by Michael L. Mayhew
Michael Mayhew is the publisher of “Craigslist Traffic”.
You can get additional information at his website:
http://webmasterautomation.com/craigslist/
