Beware of craigslist online job listings

I have not been a victim, but I would be very leery about working for any work-from-home position that's posted on Craigslist. I have a hard time trusting that site as a whole. I'd just prefer to research different sites that specialize in work-from-home positions instead of using CL since they can be so shady.

 

Yes, you really have to be careful with Craigslist. There are various scams. There are also MLMs and other biz opps with ads that are purposefully misleading, ofter posted in the customer service category and/or searchable with "telecommuting" or "telecommute" as a keyword.

That said, there are some legitimate jobs listed in the writing / editing and web / info design categories. And for that matter, some of the "telecommute" jobs may be legitimate. But I would proceed with caution.

It's far better to get some of the job listings through such work at home sites as wahm.com as they do some preliminary vetting.

 

Oh wow, thank you so much for sharing! Have you gone through this personally or do you know someone who this has happened to? I have not been a victim, but I hate to hear about people taking advantage of others. She will not be able to get away with this scam for long.

 

On those sites there is pretty much crap. We don't have craigslist here (I am living in Germany) but of course we have this kind of sites too. Good things amongst it but really much you should just ignore.

If it sounds to good to be true it is not true.

 

I'm leery of Craigslist in general. I've gotten some solid work there, but it has been local work - writing or proofreading for college students, organizational newsletters, and other low-budget "ghostwriting" arrangements.

Web sites that recruit there tend to be shady, in my experience, and I've heard from enough writers who have found the "sample" they submitted in response to an ad published without compensation or byline to be cautious about responding to CL ads. So many want a "relevant sample" or even go so far as to want a sample on a subject of their choosing, and that just screams "No intention to pay" to me. From a scammer's perspective it is a pretty sweet deal - a free ad that will get dozens (in some markets perhaps hundreds) of articles submitted by hopeful writers who have little recourse if/when they find their work published without their permission.

 

I have responded to about 3 Craigslist ads over the last decade or so. I have never heard back from anyone so I must either assume that they fill positions really fast, or that the people running the ads were not legitimate.

Something common with Craigslist ads is publishers wanting unpublished samples based on the topic they have in mind. I would never send that sort of sample to anyone. That is a guaranteed rip off opportunity for anyone who does not intend to pay for your work.

 

On those sites there is pretty much crap.

 

Thanks for your warning.