Fake Craigslist Ad Costs Man Most of What He Owns
In honor of April Fool's Day, we bring you a not- so- hilarious tale of internet mischief.
According to the Seattle Times, an Oregon man is trying to piece his life back together after fake Craigslist ads were posted saying that everything at his home was free for the taking. The ads stated that the owner of the house had to leave unexpectedly, and evidently without any of his possessions.
Farm-owner Robert Salisbury returned home to find approximately 30 people rummaging through his property. Before he had even gotten there, he had unsuccessfully attempted to stop a truck loaded with his lawn equipment from driving past him. Unsuccessfully being the key word in that sentence.
Salisbury's losses would have been much worse, had a woman, Michelle Eisely, interested in Salisbury's horse not called. The situation had seemed strange to her -- a free horse, after all -- so she called him. The Craigslist ad said that the horse had been declared abandoned by the sheriff's department, but Eisely noted that horse was in good condition and did not seem to have the characteristics of an abandoned animal. Luckily, she harnessed the power of common sense and called Salisbury.
Authorities are working with Craigslist's legal team to trace the perpetrators, and, to recover the stolen items, which, apparently, include pretty much everything -- including the porch swing.
All items can be returned, no questions asked. For Pete's sake people.
From AOL News and Seattletimes (via BoingBoing)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
otrpu @ Mar 25th 2008 3:16PM
Some people exhibit a strange sence of humor. Either that or they have crap for brains.
Pheesao @ Mar 25th 2008 6:19PM
They obviously made someone very angry with them. I hope they get their belongings back and the guilty party that posted the ad caught.
Dave @ Mar 25th 2008 7:54PM
I hope they find, (which they have all the means to),and crucify, the culprit that sent this ad to Craigslist. I believe this was a vendetta against a person not so deserving of this kind of prank. I don't know the details of what caused the person to do this, but nothing requires this kind of retaliation..
Dr. S @ Mar 26th 2008 8:44AM
I wonder what would happen if i put my wife up for sale on Craigs list ?
Debbie Boling @ Apr 5th 2008 10:58AM
If you're unsure about it, use Freecycle.org instead. It's moderated closely and things like that don't happen. Everything on Freecycle is free.
Wolfster @ Apr 7th 2008 2:31AM
I hope he got the license plate of the turd who stole his lawn equipment. That's right - stole. When the guy who's supposedly giving away stuff tries to stop you, you can't even claim ignorance. Grand theft - what is that, minimum 5 years? And they should get the max.