How To Be Truly Evil

[chequita guevara]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004302237_webhoax24m.html

Man scammed by Craigslist ad

The Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, Ore. — A pair of hoax ads on Craigslist cost an Oregon man much of what he owned.

The ads popped up Saturday afternoon, saying the owner of a Jacksonville home was forced to leave the area suddenly and his belongings, including a horse, were free for the taking, said Jackson County sheriff's Detective Sgt. Colin Fagan.

But Robert Salisbury had no plans to leave. The independent contractor was at Emigrant Lake when he got a call from a woman who had stopped by his house to claim his horse.

On his way home he stopped a truck loaded down with his work ladders, lawn mower and weed eater.

"I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give the stuff back," Salisbury said. "They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did."

The driver sped away after rebuking Salisbury. On his way home he spotted other cars filled with his belongings.

Once home he was greeted by close to 30 people rummaging through his barn and front porch.

The trespassers, armed with printouts of the ad, tried to brush him off. "They honestly thought that because it appeared on the Internet it was true," Salisbury said. "It boggles the mind."

Jacksonville police and Jackson County sheriff's deputies arrived but by then several cars packed with Salisbury's property had fled.

He turned some license plate numbers over to police.

Michelle Easley had seen the ad that claimed Salisbury's horse had been declared abandoned by the sheriff's department and was free to a good home.

"I can't stand to see a horse suffer so I drove out there and got her," Easley said. "The horse didn't look abandoned. She is in good shape for being 32 years old."

But it looked odd, so she left a note on Salisbury's door explaining the ad. She then decided to call to make sure the ad was legitimate when the second similar ad appeared.

"I feel bad because I was a part of it," Easley said. "It felt right to call the police."

Fagan praised Easley's honestly but said prosecution was likely for anybody caught with Salisbury's property.

Items can be returned with no questions asked, Fagan said.

Detectives have contacted Craigslist's legal team to try to trace the ad.

Meanwhile, Salisbury could not even relax on his porch swing.

Someone took it.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

[Ninot]

Wow. Someone must not like him very much. Or someone thought of an ingenious way to get away with theft.

[Provost Harrison]

Another reason not to use Craigslist

[Winston]

So.. Virtual Communism. I don't know what the world's coming to.

[-Jrabbit]

The person who placed those ads had best be well protected or far, far away...

[Riesstiu IV]

I read this article earlier. I think the most absurd part were the people who still insisted on taking his things even after he said the ad wasn't his.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Riesstiu IV
I read this article earlier. I think the most absurd part were the people who still insisted on taking his things ever after he said the ad wasn't his.

If he were a true American, he'd have pulled out one of his many handguns and shot them.

[Riesstiu IV]

Someone probably took those too.

[Sandman]

That's horrendous.

[Winston]

Any news on his wife?

What!? He got the horse back, didn't he?

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by Zkribbler


If he were a true American, he'd have pulled out one of his many handguns and shot them.

If it happened in Texas we would have without hesitation!



And may I just say

For a moment there I thought you were talking about me.

[chequita guevara]

This isn't the first time this has happened. From 2007,

Woman charged after Craigslist posting resulted in a house stripped

By Brian Alexander

Seattle Times staff reporter

Pierce County prosecutors have filed charges against the niece of a woman whose house was stripped clean after a Craigslist.org posting advertised that everything in the home was free.

Nichole Blackwell, 28, was charged with second-degree burglary, malicious mischief and criminal impersonation for allegedly posting an ad that read, "Moving out ... House being demolished. Come and take whatever you want, nothing is off limits," on the online classifieds Web site, according to charging documents from Pierce County Superior Court.

It wasn't until six days after the ad was posted that Laurie Raye, owner of the home in the 1200 block of East 64th Street in Tacoma, checked on the house to find it stripped.

Nearly everything that wasn't bolted down — and some stuff that was — was taken.

People, thinking that they could remove whatever they wanted, grabbed the refrigerator, front door and kitchen sink, among other things, according to the documents.

Police believe Blackwell disliked Raye and was particularly upset because Raye had recently evicted Blackwell's mother from the house.

On March 24, Blackwell went with her mom to get some items from the home and returned home angry about how Raye was treating family members, so she posted the ad on Craigslist, according to court documents.

Brian Alexander: 206-464-2026 or balexander@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

[Dauphin]

"They honestly thought that because it appeared on the Internet it was true,"

[Cort Haus]

"I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give the stuff back," Salisbury said. "They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did."

[Sprayber]

Is there no kind of verification process to an ad such as this?