TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

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  • More on craigslist’s new rules

    Craigslist to charge for erotic services ads:

    Yesterday, I did an interview with Matthew B. Stannard of the San Francisco Chronicle about craigslist’s new security measures. Let’s get my media self-back patting out of the way first.

    On the other end of the criticism spectrum was Trench Reynolds, a pseudonymous crime blogger who tracks Craigslist-linked crime at thetrenchcoat.com.

    “I still say the best way to crack down on that is to do away with the erotic services section altogether,” he said. “I think (the deal) will cut down on a lot of the erotic services ads, but I don’t think it will cut down enough to put me out of business.”

    And I still stand by what I said.

    Now let’s move on to a quote by craigslist’s CEO himself Jim Buckmaster…

    “It raises the accountability for people posting to the category,” said Craigslist Chief Executive Officer Jim Buckmaster. “Our well-intentioned users don’t want to see illegal activity on the site, either.”

    Buckmaster said the company is trying to strike a balance, keeping the erotic services section – in part to keep such ads from appearing elsewhere on Craigslist – but trying to do so responsibly, protecting free speech and preventing exploitation. Hopefully, he said, Craigslist can be a pioneer in this kind of cooperation as it has been on the Internet.

    “In our humble opinion this is the way to go, and we would invite other online services to follow suit,” he said. “We all would be better off if we all voluntarily do what is necessary to curtail illegal activity on the Internet.”

    I keep hearing this theory that if craigslist did away with erotic services, the ads would appear in other parts of the site. Well, if erotic services ads appear in other parts of the site, won’t the users then be able to flag them? I mean, that’s what Mr. Buckmaster was touting prior to the new measures. Has Mr. Buckmaster lost faith in his user base that he has so highly touted in the past? Or did he never have it to begin with and just wants the traffic that the erotic services section provides?

  • Reader employment scam

    I received the following e-mail from reader Diana about an employment scam…

    I have been looking for work on Craig’s List. Very successful and that is why I keep looking. Back in April when I found myself unemployed, I spend many hours sending out my resume to posted jobs. It all started with one posting where they were going to pay $25 and hour for a job that I have been doing and getting paid $15. What a deal I thought! I replied, sent my resume to receive a reply that the job had been filled, however, here is another opportunity for me. I had to qualify and fill in the questions below. I happily did and got a reply back that I was accepted and this is my assignment. They would send me a check for couple thousand dollars, you take your 10% commission and send the rest back by Western Union. Once I received the money order/cashiers check/business check, I called the bank listed on it to find out it was a fraud account. If I could cash all the bogus checks I have received while doing this money scam for fun, I could retire. It is a shame that so many people take ads like this and think they are real, but then in the end, they are out thousands of dollars for a moment of greed. Yes, they have figured out how to pull a scam even through the job search sections. Such a shame. Job hunter beware.

    Which leads me to believe that paid ads are not the be all and end all to security that craigslist thinks they are.

  • Riverview, FL pimp arrested

    Man used Craigslist for prostitution, deputies say:

    47-year-old Ronald J. Zappia of Riverview, Florida was arrested for being a craigslist pimp. One of his girls dimed him out to police when she got caught in a craigslist sting.

  • Another reader scam e-mail

    I received this scam e-mail from reader Mike. The ad was on the Nashville craigslist. This one seems like they’re not even trying anymore…

    Michael,

    Thanks for the email. I Brink and my wife Dr. Betty own the Apartment and also want you to know that it was due to my transfer that made i and my wife to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and we are looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at all time and we will appreciate it if the person will take it as if it were his/her own.

    So for now, We are here in west Africa, in our new house and also with the keys of the house, we tried looking for an agent that we can give this documents before we left but could not see and we also don’t want our house to be used improperly in our absence that is why we took it along with us. I and my wife came over to West Africa for a missionary work, so i hope you will promise us to take very good care of the house.

    So get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have had in renting home. Hope you are okay with the price. I am looking forward to hear from you soon, please call us on how to get the house for rent, 011 then 234-803-923-7268 or + 234-806-330-0979

    RENT APPLICATION FORM

    1)Your Full Name :

    2)Your Full Address & Phone Number :

    3)How old are you?

    4)Are you married?

    5)How many people will be living in the house?

    6)Do you have a pet?

    7)Do you have a car?

    8)Occupation?

    9)What is your religion?

    Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you. I await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you, we have not seen you yet but we only put everything into Gods hand, so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this.Please i want you to drive to check the house at the address and let me know if you would like it, the house is locked and i have the keys.

    Thanks and you are welcome

    Brink and wife Dr. betty

    Let’s review for those just joining us. Wanting, clean apartment, bad English (not the band), West Africa, missionary work, can’t see the inside of the house, Nigerian phone number, and finally lame fake names. I mean Brink and Dr. Betty and no last name?

    I’m amazed that the people who fall for these scams can actually operate a computer.

  • Brutal craigslist pimp arrested

    Brooklyn man accused of sex trafficking:

    Meanwhile, we still have other crimes to clear out of my inbox.

    24-year-old Jamali Brockett of Brooklyn, New York has been arrested on federal charges of sex trafficking. He allegedly pimped out girls on craigslist ranging in age from 15 to 20 along the Eastern Seaboard. He would take the girls’ money and pay for their food clothes and shelter. He sexually assaulted them and would threaten them into not leaving his employ.

    Let’s hear from the U.S. District Attorney…

    At a brief court appearance yesterday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Pam Chen called Brockett, also known as “Marley,” “King” and “Daddy,” a “menace to society, who preyed upon young women for his own profit and sexual gratification.”

    I guess his girls wouldn’t be considered victims, would they?

  • craigslist announces bold new security measures

    No sooner did I post my previous post about Craigslist big announcement did I see this post by Jim Buckmaster on craigslist’s official blog.

    craigslist is taking huge steps to eliminate crime on its sites.

    First off craigslist is suing 14 companies whose service and software are geared towards circumventing craigslist’s existing security measures such as needing a working phone number to place an erotic services ad.

    Speaking of erotic services, those ads will now require not only credit card verification but also a small fee with 100% of that money donated to charity.

    They have also entered into a new partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to help put a stop to the exploitation of children.

    You can read the entire press release at the link I posted above.

    Is this the end of crime on craigslist? Is this the end of this section of the site? Um…no.

    While I applaud the efforts that craigslist is going to they still refuse to eliminate the erotic services section altogether.

    While the measures they are putting in place are admirable but still can be circumvented. How many of the new ads will be placed with stolen credit cards?

    This is a huge step to eliminating crime on craigslist but unfortunately, it is still not enough.

  • Cali craigslist rapist convicted

    Santa Clara County jury convicts Craigslist attacker:

    26-year-old Kanari Nelson of San Jose, California was convicted yesterday for the assault and rapes of various craigslist prostitutes. He’s looking at a max of 200 years behind bars. That’s not a misprint. He could be sentenced up to 2 centuries.

    Let’s hear from the D.A.

    “Anytime this guy wanted to sexually assault somebody, he just had to go online and pick from a menu,” said Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney James Leonard, who won the case.

    Craigslist, of course, had no comment but their mouthpiece, Susan MacTavish Best, said there would be a significant announcement about that topic today. I’m all a-flutter wondering what that announcement might be. You don’t think it could be *gasp* that they’re eliminating the erotic services section? Nah. They’d never do that no matter how many women get raped.

  • News on the Lori Drew trial

    There have been some more developments in the trial of Lori Drew.

    First, a judge deferred ruling on a motion to dismiss the charges. The trial is expected to take place on November 18th.

    In another development, Lori Drew waived her right to a jury trial, opting instead for the trial to be decided by a judge.

    I don’t blame her for that one. A jury would weigh heavily on Megan Meier’s suicide and not the letter of the law. However the prosecution needs to agree for the trial to go to a judge and of course, they didn’t.

  • Woman attacked after craigslist hook up

    Woman Attacked After Craigslist Meeting:

    40-year-old Wayne Graves was arrested for assaulting a woman he met on craigslist. The woman from Upper Marlboro, Md. was found by police unclothed and injured.

    The injuries must have been pretty severe since Graves has been charged with attempted first-degree murder.

    I am not blaming the victim at all. If the charges are true then Graves is a grade-A scumbag. However, this is just another reason why not to hook up with people on craigslist.

  • Still no justice for Chanel Petro-Nixon

    Strangled teen left on Brooklyn curb with trash:

    I feel dirty linking to a Nancy Grace article, however, it at least it serves a purpose.

    It’s been over 2 years since the body of Chanel Petro-Nixon was found. She was a 16-year-old girl from Brooklyn whose strangled body was found in a garbage bag like so much trash.

    Her killer has still not been caught. Police are still asking for help…

    Police are asking anyone who finds Chanel’s cell phone or sneakers to call the anonymous tip line at 1-800-577-TIPS. The cell phone is a Silver Sanyo Sprint phone, model 8200. The shoes are size 6½, white Nike Air Jordan retro sneakers with green trim and the number 14 on them.

    A reward of $34,000 is being offered for any information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible for Chanel’s death.

    I know the odds are slim that someone reading this site would have information into her death but it never hurts to try.