CL scams

Naio wrote:

rexlion wrote:
If a CL ad has a super low price, I look at the contact info. Scammers will have an out of state area code or will have only the anonymous email contact. A genuine local seller will usually list their local phone number.

Gosh, I sell a fair amount of stuff on CL, but I would never list my phone number or email, for safety reasons!

I'm amazed you manage to sell things without giving buyers some way to contact you. (I guess you use the CL anonymous email or something similar?) Anyhow, what safety concerns do you have with people getting your email or telephone—I mean, it could lead to annoyance or even harassment, but unsafeness?

Reminds me of one ad I saw when I was shopping for my motorhome. It was a local one, that had been on CL for quite some time, and included only an email—that apparently they never checked or responded to.

An out of state area code doesn't necessarily mean the person isn't local, these days. Number portability and especially cell phones mean that any number could actually be anywhere. A better (but far from certain) way of finding local sellers is to see if there's a state license plate visible in the pictures. Most scammers seem to have no plate or edit the image to remove it. (That doesn't work for old RVs that have been sitting for awhile, of course, but I didn't care to buy any that wasn't in basic operable condition and couldn't be road tested.)