The overwhelming majority of craigslist users are trustworthy and well-meaning.

With billions of human interactions, the incidence of violent crime related to craigslist is extremely low.

Millions of violent crimes occur in the U.S. each year: 10,000+ homicides, 600,000+ robberies, 5 million assaults. 

Vanishingly few of these are craigslist-related.

Nevertheless, please take the same common sense precautions online as you would offline.

When meeting someone for the first time, please remember to:

• Insist on a public meeting place like a cafe, bank, or shopping center.
• Do not meet in a secluded place, or invite strangers into your home.
• Be especially careful buying/selling high value items.
• Tell a friend or family member where you’re going.
• Take your cell phone along if you have one.
• Consider having a friend accompany you.
• Trust your instincts.

Taking these simple precautions helps make craigslist safer for everyone.

For more information about personal safety online, check out these resources:

• http://www.staysafeonline.org/
• http://www.onguardonline.gov/
• http://getsafeonline.org
• http://wiredsafety.org

Please review our avoiding scams page as well.