A Map of Craigslist Crimes
June 11, 2014
A reporter over at The Daily Dot has used data from news stories to answer a point of curiosity, we learn from “Mapping 30 Days of Craigslist Crimes.” It is not news that some people use the classifieds site to perpetuate crimes. Writer Aaron Sankin wanted to know more, to get a “big-picture perspective” of these events. He and his associates mined data from news articles to compile a map of incidents that occurred in April of this year. There are 74 crimes represented on the resulting Google-generated map, though Sankin hastens to note that this sampling cannot be considered comprehensive; these are only the crimes that were both reported and considered important or interesting enough to make the news. Still, it is an interesting analysis.
Of these 74 incidents, eleven resulted in violence and three in death. The most common fell into the robbery/ attempted robbery/ assault categories. That’s why it’s wise to meet online contacts in a well-lit public place, of course. Interestingly, Sankin tells us, a Chicago police department has gone so far as to invite people to complete online-initiated transactions in their lobby or parking lot.
Other, non-violent crimes the team found included the appearance of stolen property on the site and failure to pay for goods. Then there was this apparently common scam:
“One particular type of crime stood out both for its specificity and prevalence.
“The scam typically involves the victim responding to a listing for a rental property and corresponding with someone he or she believed was (or represented) the landlord or property manager. The victim would be sent pictures of the property but not actually be let inside. The victim would then be instructed to send a security deposit and/or the first month’s rent, often wiring the funds to an out-of-state account, and they would then receive keys to the unit.
“Of course, those keys never came and the suspects with whom the victims were corresponding with had no actual connection to the property owners—they simply found an unoccupied housing unit and used it to swindle money out of unsuspecting people.”
So, watch out for that. The article recommends anyone looking for property through Craigslist perform a Google reverse image search, which will reveal whether the same images appear in multiple property descriptions. For good measure, he also includes Craigslist’s own list of best practices, like not giving out financial information or inviting strangers into your home. Most of it is common sense, but it’s worth a refresher for those considering a Craigslist transaction.
Cynthia Murrell, June 11, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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