In a crime highlighting the dangers of meeting online, Boston University medical student Philip Markoff was charged with the murder of Julissa Brisman, a 25-year-old masseuse he met through Craigslist. He is also charged in an armed robbery of another masseuse that police say he met through Craigslist.
According to police, Markoff killed the Brisman at the Marriott Copley Place Hotel. The robbery of the other woman took place at the Westin Copley Place Hotel. Police are currently searching for other victims that Markoff may have harmed after meeting through Craigslist.
The crimes committed by Markoff are just the latest associated with Craigslist. Since it’s founding, the San Francisco-based site has been used by many devious-minded individuals.
In one incident, believed to have been sparked by a family feud, a Tacoma, Wash., woman returned home one day to find her home stripped clean after someone posted an advertisement on Craigslist that read, “Moving out … House being demolished. Come and take whatever you want, nothing is off limits,”. Nichole Blackwell, 28, was charged with second-degree burglary, malicious mischief and criminal impersonation in connection with the incident.
Diane Siddons of Tampa Bay, Fla., found herself receiving calls from people who had seen her five-bedroom house posted on Craiglist for just $800 a month. The problem was, Siddons never posted the ad.
During a two-month period, Beth Ann Blovino of New York City received strange visitors who seen her home being advertised for rent on Craigslist.
Craigslist is used by an estimated 42 million. Everyday, at least 1,000,000 new ads, such as personal ads, real estate ads, moving sale ads, job ads, are placed with little or no restrictions. With clever re-wording and re-phrasing, multiple ads in concerning the item can be placed in order to squash competition. Login credentials are not needed to post or respond to ads.
Customer and tech support is virtually non-existent and the site relies on its users to monitor and flag ads that violate regulations. The problem is, due to the high volume of competition on the site, many users routinely flag and delete ads whether they violate regulations or not.
Until Craigslist gets a complete overhaul of its services, people with ill-intent will continue to use the site freely for evil deeds.
There will always be predators who seek out to do harm to innocent people. We all need to constantly be on guard for our own safety. It is a dangerous world we live in.
Great article. I wasn’t even aware that there were other victims of Craigslist out there. People can really be cruel. You definitely have to be careful where you post your personal information.