Roger Shoaf wrote:
"Oren" wrote in message
...
"May 7) -- It seemed like a good idea -- make some extra cash by
selling a diamond ring on Craigslist. But a Washington state man who
opened his door to what he thought was a prospective buyer found a
band of murderous thieves instead, police said.

Jim Sanders, 43, spoke on the phone to a man who responded to his
website ad. He gave the man his address in Edgewood, a Tacoma suburb,
and set up a meeting time so the buyer could inspect the ring, police
said. But when Sanders answered the door on April 28, three men and a
woman stood on the doorstep. One of the strangers pulled a gun and the
gang forced its way inside, police said."


http://www.aolnews.com/crime/article...-ring/19469483

So what is your point?

Theft's happen all the time. If someone wanted to steal a diamond ring I
can think of a lot easier ways than responding to a craigslist ad. As an
example if one were to go to a grocery store in an affluent neighborhood and
just wait until you see one that you would like to steal and then car jack
the owner of the ring.

If anything the craigslist case proves it was a rather lousy plan. Not only
did they get arrested, but they got into a tousle and now they are facing
the death penalty.

Robbing a bank would be so much easier than boosting a wedding ring.


Various guides on how to use CL and similar services always recommend
meeting in a public place for initial contacts. In a small town like
this nobody bothers, but I have seen ads worded like they would prefer
neutral ground to look at stuff.

I don't want to seem crass in the face of a tragedy, but even something
as innocent as a garage sale can be used as a way to case a house.
People I know refuse to have them for just that reason. They don't want
strangers to have an excuse to eyeball the layout, the quality of other
stuff stored in garage, to make friends with their dog under innocent
circumstances, etc.

I'm not losing sleep over it, but then again I'm not selling any
high-dollar items. Entire contents of this house would probably only
bring a couple grand from a fence.

--
aem sends...