December 2006

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People in glass houses

December 30, 2006 in Craigslist by Trench Reynolds | No comments

Craigslist exec strives to keep the Internet neutral:

Jim Buckmaster is the CEO of craigslist. He’s concerned about Net Neutrality. Basically proponents of Net Neutrality want the government to step in and prevent ISP’s from creating tiered levels of service with the premium priced tier providing faster service to highly trafficked websites. Personally I’d prefer the government to stay out of the internet but that’s neither here nor there.

Mr. Buckmaster would like the government to get involved.

I guess I would say I’m cautiously optimistic that lawmakers will do the right thing, although it seems in a lot of cases that these things get decided according to who puts forward the most lobbying and the most campaign contributions, he said. Since the phone companies have played this game for decades, they certainly have an advantage there.

Mr. Buckmaster should be careful in invoking the name of our government and should be more concerned with cleaning up his own house. MySpace has already felt the wrath of state and federal governments due to the controversy that surrounds it. With craigslist’s reputation for drug dealing, prostitution, robberies, and assaults it’s only a matter of time before someone in the government decides to regulate craigslist.

craigslist babysiter was a level 3 sex offender

December 29, 2006 in Craigslist, Predators by Trench Reynolds | 2 comments

Neighbor catches sex offender seeking babysitting job on Craigslist:

Gather ’round and listen to the tale of John Gilbert Gray. A level 3 Washington State sex offender who thought he was pretty slick. His original crime was for the sexual assault of a 21-year-old woman. When he got out he told authorities he was homeless. In actuality he was living with his wife in an apartment. The reason was that if he reported as homeless a sex offender notification would not be distributed around the neighborhood.

And he would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for those meddling housewives. And the fact that he took an ad out on craigslist for BABYSITTING!!!

But a young mother in Gray’s neighborhood, who fears retaliation and wants to remain anonymous, says she was checking Craigslist, and found an ad for babysitting that made her suspicious.

“We decided out of the blue to check it up on Washington State sex offender’s list and lo and behold there was his face,” the mother said.

In the neighborhood, the woman says Gray went by the name “Logan”. She says she and other mothers were alarmed to realize Gray is a level three-sex offender — the highest risk to re-offend — and that he and his wife were advertising to babysit.

So she reported him.

For his efforts Gray is looking at a year in the pokey.

I really wonder what made him think that babysitter was the logical career choice for a sex offender trying to hide from authorities. Did he think that no parent would do any kind of background check on him? Not to mention the fact that hiring a babysitter from craigslist is not the most logical choice for a parent.

craigslist car deal gone bad

December 28, 2006 in Craigslist, Robbery by Trench Reynolds | 6 comments

Man shot after car deal sours:

The craigslist crime spree continues unabated. This time in Vallejo, California.

A man placed an ad on craigslist to sell his car. A buyer was interested. The seller and the buyer meet in public at 1pm. The buyer asked the seller to drive him to another location to get money. The seller agrees and has his brother followed him. The buyer went into an apartment and returned with a payment in lead striking the seller in the leg.

Here’s a description of the suspect…

The suspect was described as a black man, 6 feet 2 inches tall, 160 pounds, black hair with blonde tips and brown eyes. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and blue “Jibaud” jeans with red stripes on the knees.

And the suspect’s name is believed to be Tyrone. I couldn’t make that one up if I tried. Guys like “Tyrone” are the reason stereotypes get perpetuated.

Anyway, again this is another craigslist related crime and still no outrage on the level that MySpace receives.

‘Tis the season to get robbed on craigslist

December 21, 2006 in Craigslist, Robbery by Trench Reynolds | 2 comments

CRAIGSLIST SHOPPER MACED AND ROBBED OF $2,000:

Is anyone else besides me starting to notice a pattern here?

Fremont police hope to take a pair of would-be entrepreneurs into custody for using the popular classifieds Web site Craigslist for a robbery ruse, police reported today.

An unidentified victim answered an ad on the Web site for a 46-inch television on Wednesday. The sellers brought the television over to his house on Grimmer Blvd. and immediately set it up to prove that it worked, according to Fremont police.

The victim told police he went straight to the bank to take out $2,000 to purchase the television. When he came back, however, the suspects attacked him with mace and took the money and the television.

Yet you never hear of any proposed legislation for the safety of craigslist users. I wonder why that is.

One media outlet picks up on craigslist crime spree

December 21, 2006 in Craigslist, Robbery by Trench Reynolds | No comments

Craigslist Criminals: The Site’s New Danger:

Finally someone in the media recognizes the dangers of craigslist.

PORTLAND- Craigslist, the fee-free website based out of San Francisco, allows users to post items they wish to buy and sell without providing identification, a policy that is beginning to cause problems.

Portland Police say thieves are using the site to sell stolen goods. They warn: if the price is too good to be true, it probably is.

Myles Wright has been searching for the thief who stole his $4,000 handmade trailer. Someone took it from his yard several months ago. Wright had been checking Craigslist to see if anyone was trying to sell his trailer and networking with others selling trailers to see if they had any information.

His research paid off. Police arrested Forrest Green in connection with the theft. Green has allegedly been stealing trailers and using Craigslist to sell them. Wright’s trailer has not yet been recovered.

Except they’re only scratching the surface. Stolen goods are only the tip of the iceberg. Let’s not leave out prostitution, rape, child molestation, robbery, and drug pushers.

Obvious headline of the day

December 20, 2006 in Craigslist, Prostitution/Human Trafficking by Trench Reynolds | 2 comments

Police: Woman advertised sex on Craigslist:

Still no public outrage about craigslist.

Craigslist ad for Tilestation 3

December 12, 2006 in Craigslist, Scams by Trench Reynolds | 2 comments

San Jose man victim of PlayStation scam:

Another day and another crime from the hive of scum and villainy that is craigslist…

He wanted a PlayStation 3, but he wound up with a $700 box of junk.

The 27-year-old San Jose man was the victim of a popular scam Saturday when he opened his PlayStation 3 box and found floor tiles, a PlayStation 2 controller and apartment rental magazines instead of the highly sought-after $600 video game console, Fremont police Sgt. Chris Mazzone said.

The victim told police that he had been searching for one of the gaming units, which sell out at retail stores in less than a day and are being resold on eBay for $800 to $1,000. He found a seller on craigslist who said he would part with one for $700 in cash, Mazzone said.

“He said he worked at Best Buy in Hayward and had one,” Mazzone said the victim told police.

After a day or two of e-mail correspondence, the two agreed to meet Saturday afternoon in a McDonald’s parking lot in Fremont’s Warm Springs neighborhood.

When the victim arrived, the seller and an accomplice got out of a white 2003 Ford Explorer, approached the victim with a black bag and told him the PlayStation 3 was inside, the sergeant said.

The buyer peered into the bag, saw a box and asked that it be opened before he handed over the cash, police said. The seller balked and said, “What, don’t you trust me?” The two then agreed to exchange the money and bag at the same time, Mazzone said.

Once the seller had the cash, he and his accomplice scurried to the Explorer, sped out of the parking lot and drove through a red light, the sergeant said.

Again if you have to go meet someone in a parking lot to buy something off of them there’s a good chance thet you’re about to be scammed. Stick with EBay.

Oakland craigslist rape

December 9, 2006 in Craigslist, Predators by Trench Reynolds | 2 comments

Police: Oakland Student Raped, Attacker Met Online:

You know while all the soccer moms and do gooders are ranting and raving about MySpace, craigslist keeps sneaking in under the radar…

(AP) OAKLAND An Alameda man is under arrest for allegedly raping a graduate student who answered a classified ad on a popular Web site.

Police say a 31-year-old student at Mills College in Oakland was raped Thursday night after answering an ad on Craigslist offering modelling jobs.

49-year-old Gregory Hayes was picked up by police Friday morning after the woman spotted him at a gas station near campus.

Police say the woman sent her alleged attacker e-mails and talked to him on the phone before he arrived at her on-campus residence claiming he had a gun and raped her in his van.

Hayes asked for a lawyer after his arrest and refused to talk to investigators. Police are investigating whether he met other women on Craigslist.

At least MySpace is making attempts to keep their userbase safe. Craigslist doesn’t do anything.

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