Online scammers are sending out SMS text messages saying the recipients had unread voicemails. The text messages have a link that goes to a phishing website that steals Craigslist account credentails.
How the Phishing Scam Works
- You receive a supposedly official text message or email from craigslist, asking you to confirm your password, username, phone number, or credit card information.
- This text message or email may threaten you with the removal of your posts or the closure of your account if you do not comply immediately.
- If the sender is using email spoofing, the message may appear to come directly from craigslist.
- You click the link in the email and are taken to a fraudulent third-party site that may resemble a legitimate craigslist page.
- You may be asked to download an attachment, install specific software, or receive a message to your phone.
- You enter your login information on the fraudulent page, inadvertently providing it to a third party.
- The third party scammer can then use the information you provided to gain access to your actual craigslist account.
How to Avoid Phishing Attempts and Protect your Account Information
- Never click on email links that ask you for any personal or account information.
- Make sure to login to your account only by navigating manually to craigslist.org.
- If you are unsure about the status of your account or your posts, the safest way to check is to go directly to craigslist.org and login.
- If you do not see any problems within your account, you can safely ignore any messages to the contrary.
- Never provide a phone authentication code to anyone else.
- craigslist will only ask for you to enter it on our site as part of the posting process.
- Use common sense. If an email seems suspicious, fishy, or too good to be true... it probably is!
Think You've been Scam?
If you see strange activity or unfamiliar posts on your account page, please change your password immediately and manually delete the ads.
If you use the same password for your email account (or any other services), you may want to change those passwords as well.