Tips To Know Before Buying/Purchasing On Craigslist Or Facebook Groups

When making purchases or sales online from websites like Craigslist or Facebook groups, one must take necessary precautions.  This story out of Amarillo only solidifies that fact.  An Amarillo man was robbed while attempting to purchase a vehicle from a Craigslist ad.  In the end, the victim lost his cash, and suffered some injuries.

I'm not here to call the victim ignorant by any means.  I myself have never had a bad buying experience online, but I know several people that have, it happens...

What I am here to do, is share some general tips on how to go about a purchase or selling an item that involves meeting someone you don't know, and risk of being robbed when shopping on Craigslist or online in general.

Don’t go alone, take a friend or family member with you.

Meet in a public neutral place, like a convenience store or grocery store, somewhere there are plenty of "witnesses".  Never meet them at your house or their house!

Tell someone where you are going, let a family member or friend know that you're going to meet someone, where you're going to meet them and when.

Never offer up “extra” information to the person you're selling to or buying from about "why" you're making the purchase or selling the item.

Don’t "flash" your cash!

Meet at a bank for large purchases, like vehicles, deal in cashier's checks or money orders.

Never provide your “Home” number as it can be searched online for your address.

Those are just a few things that I do to play it safe when making purchases or sales online.

Do you have any good advice to add?

Here's the Amarillo Police press release about the robbery that took place over the weekend.

"On 2-22-14, at 9:11 PM, officers responded to a reported robbery at a home in the 3200 block of SW 10^th Avenue.  The victim, a WM 18, told officers that he had been robbed by three black males when he was trying to buy a vehicle through an ad posted on Craig’s List.  He contacted the seller by telephone, and the man agreed to meet him at a home in the 3200 block of W. 10^th.  The victim took the silver 1997 Lincoln Town Car for a test drive with the suspect.  He agreed to buy the car and returned to the home to retrieve cash to pay for the vehicle.  When he came back out of the home with his money in hand, he was assaulted by the seller and two other black males, who started hitting him with their fists and took his money.  The victim produced a knife, and the three black males got into the silver car and drove away.  The victim tried to stop the men, and clung to the vehicle as the suspects drove away northbound on Louisiana St.  The victim sustained abrasion type injuries to his legs from being dragged for some distance before he let go of the vehicle.  The suspect vehicle struck an unoccupied black Ford Mustang that was parked in the 800 block of S. Louisiana and left the scene of that collision.  The victim declined medical treatment for the injuries.  No other suspect information is available at this time, and officers found that the original sale advertisement for the vehicle has been removed.  There have been no arrests."