21/05: Craigslist Crime, Scammers Place Ads That Could Get You Killed
Category: eBay/Auction site news
Posted by: froglog
Brooklyn, NY - Videographer Tom Morgan placed an ad on Craigslist to drum up business - but ended up getting mugged and losing his livelihood.
Morgan, 22, was robbed at gunpoint of his wallet and $4,000 worth of equipment after showing up to what he thought would be a $200 job shooting in Brooklyn.]]
“The only thing I saw was the gun,” he said. “I had never been close to a gun before.”
Business had been picking up for theVassar College graduate, who has been freelancing full time since December.
He had two jobs booked for the weekend when a woman named Angela called him last Thursday, asking if he could record her party on Sunday.
She said she was responding to an advertisement he posted on the classifieds Web site Craigslist.
“I usually meet with people two or three weeks in advance to get a deposit,” he said. “I didn’t have time to meet with her.”
She agreed to pay him when he showed up at her Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, apartment with his equipment, but when “I knocked on the door, a middle-age man opened the door,” he said. “He had no idea what I was talking about.”
Morgan was trying to call Angela from the hallway when two masked men pushed him against the elevator door and stuck a silver handgun in his face.
Without saying a word, they stole his equipment bag - which held his only camera - and the cash in his wallet.
“I thought, ‘Am I being mugged? I’m being mugged,” he said. “The whole thing probably lasted about 30 seconds.”
A police spokesman said they believe Morgan was set up for the mugging.
After calling the cops, Morgan posted a warning on Craigslist and received several responses encouraging him to always meet with people before doing business, a strategy police and Craigslist also stress.
Reported HERE
Morgan, 22, was robbed at gunpoint of his wallet and $4,000 worth of equipment after showing up to what he thought would be a $200 job shooting in Brooklyn.]]
“The only thing I saw was the gun,” he said. “I had never been close to a gun before.”
Business had been picking up for theVassar College graduate, who has been freelancing full time since December.
He had two jobs booked for the weekend when a woman named Angela called him last Thursday, asking if he could record her party on Sunday.
She said she was responding to an advertisement he posted on the classifieds Web site Craigslist.
“I usually meet with people two or three weeks in advance to get a deposit,” he said. “I didn’t have time to meet with her.”
She agreed to pay him when he showed up at her Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, apartment with his equipment, but when “I knocked on the door, a middle-age man opened the door,” he said. “He had no idea what I was talking about.”
Morgan was trying to call Angela from the hallway when two masked men pushed him against the elevator door and stuck a silver handgun in his face.
Without saying a word, they stole his equipment bag - which held his only camera - and the cash in his wallet.
“I thought, ‘Am I being mugged? I’m being mugged,” he said. “The whole thing probably lasted about 30 seconds.”
A police spokesman said they believe Morgan was set up for the mugging.
After calling the cops, Morgan posted a warning on Craigslist and received several responses encouraging him to always meet with people before doing business, a strategy police and Craigslist also stress.
Reported HERE
