Three San Diego residents were robbed this past Monday night in separate encounters planned by the suspects through Craigslist. In all three instances, the victims were robbed at gunpoint while trying to sell an iPod or iPad. News outlets are reporting that the police believe the incidents to be related.
These latest episodes come just 3 months after San Diego resident Garret Berki, a recent high school graduate, was shot and killed during a botched Craigslist transaction.
The frequency of incidents in which innocent people using Craigslist end up becoming victims of unscrupulous criminals, is very disturbing. The only reason criminals like using Craigslist is because the website allows them to remain totally anonymous, thus making it easy for them to lure their victims.
Fortunately, there is a solution.
Since criminals prefer operating under the cloak of anonymity, Safelist offers a very simple and elegant solution that makes their platform very unfriendly for crooks and felons: We verify the identity of every user. With our Verified Anonymity concept, users have the ability to stay anonymous, while still being verified. Safelist also promotes an open door policy with law enforcement to further discourage criminals from playing their trade on our site.
Additionally, unlike our competitors’ Russian Roulette system, Safelist users enter into a transaction with their eyes wide open. With our reputation management system, users are afforded the ability to see each others’ transaction scores (SafePoints) before they transact.
At SafeBlog, we are committed to providing you, our readers, with tips and suggestions to help keep you and your family safe and secure from online crime. We encourage you to share your comments, experiences and ideas with our community.
*News Update*
Last night, a suspect, Keith Randall Smith, was arrested and taken in for questioning. The black handgun described in all three incidents was recovered at Smith’s Mission Valley home as well as two of the stolen iPads.
However, the female that accompanied the robber in all three cases is still missing. She is described to be between ages of 20-25, blonde, thin and about 5’4”. If anyone has any information on this case, they are asked to call the San Diego Police Department at 619-531-2000.
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