Around 10:30pm on May 11, 2011 Garrett Berki, an 18-year-old resident of San Diego who graduated from La Jolla High School was shot and killed during a planned Craigslist transaction.

Garrett Berki replied to a Craigslist ad for a $600 MacBook Pro in the San Diego area. When Berki and his girlfriend appeared for the transaction, three 17-year-old boys robbed them of their cell phones and money. The attackers then chased Berki and his girlfriend in a vehicle where Berki was shot in the chest while attempting to drive away. Berki died about an hour later at the hospital.

The accused killers are Rashon Abernathy, Seandell Jones and Shaquille Jordan. Although they are minors, they are being tried as adults and may face 50 years to life in prison if convicted.

Stories like these are occurring more and more frequently. At Safelist.com, we feel, as citizens and parents, it’s our job to create a safer community. Online local classifieds are here to stay, so Safelist.com is taking extra steps to make the online shopping experience safer.

All members who join Safelist.com have their identity verified before they can post or respond to ads. Therefore the risk of someone using a fake email or name is essentially eliminated. To get even greater reliability as a member, upgrading to a Gold membership requires a criminal background check. Although this does not guarantee buyers are free from potential harm, it is an extra step that other classifieds sites like Craigslist do not offer.

No matter how extensive background checks are, classified users still need to use precautions and their own best judgment when completing transactions.

A few tips to stay safe during classified transactions include:

• Meet in a public place such as Starbucks or grocery stores to complete the transaction.
• If you are uncomfortable for any reason, walk away. Just because you set up a place and time to meet doesn’t commit you to purchasing if you don’t feel safe.
• Research. If you are buying something big such as a computer or a car, do your research to ensure the item you’re buying works and is priced fairly.
• Remember: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be wary of scams if a price is set too low.
• Take advantage of Safelist’s advanced features like voice or video chat to talk directly to the buyer/seller before meeting.

Tragedies like the death of Garrett Berki can be prevented by taking security measures into your own hands. At Safelist.com we’re building a safer community to prevent these types of tragedies from occurring.