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  • Geebo 7:44 am on May 19, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Safety   

    The craigslist safety app is too little too late 

    The craigslist safety app is too little too late

    Recently craigslist announced that they have sanctioned a smartphone app that shows users where they can supposedly make transactions safely. The app is said to show the locations of coffee shops and police stations. While we commend craigslist for finally starting to think about the safety of their users we here at Geebo have to ask, what took them so long?

    We’re not even talking about the fact that Geebo is an industry leader when it comes to assisting in our customers’ safety. For example back in March of last year Geebo CEO Greg Collier partnered with the SafeTrade Stations initiative that was started by industry watchdog, The AIM Group. The SafeTrade Stations program was started in response to the fact that at the time 84 people had been violently murdered after using craigslist. That number has since risen to 103. While these deaths may only be a minute fraction of the number of transactions that take place on craigslist it should be a large enough number to cause craigslist concern. However this is the first step, as far as we can recall, that craigslist has taken in years to aid in the safety of their users, except they didn’t even take this step. Another company developed the app and craigslist just gave it their seal of approval. So in reality craigslist barely lifted a finger.

    This is not surprising considering craigslist’s lax history when it comes to safety. They say that their site is too large to moderate their ads yet they have no problem in pulling all sorts of ads that aren’t even flagged by their so-called ‘community police’. In the past they’ve pulled ads for such things as unlocked iPhones to recalled baby strollers yet they don’t pull ads for such things as illegal drugs, firearms, human trafficking and the multitude of scams that craigslist is awash with. Speaking of their community police, it seems the term police is used rather loosely. For lack of a better term it seems that the craigslist community police are a case of the inmates running the asylum. Too often craigslist ads are flagged for personal reasons like the ad is flagged by a competitor of the ad’s poster. While on the other hand they tend not to flag any ads for obvious illegal activity. In contrast Geebo has its ads moderated by staff members who have a keen eye when it comes to scams and illegal content.

    In the past craigslist was infamous for its adult ads where human trafficking thrived. Although it did remove those ads after consumer and media pressure, craigslist still has sections that could be considered dark alleys of the internet. An inordinate amount of arrests have been generated from their personals and the ‘casual encounter’ section of craigslist along with an inordinate number of victims of online predators. Years ago Greg Collier, against common practice, removed personal ads from Geebo  in order to better provide a safer experience to Geebo’s users. At no point did Geebo ever accept ads that had their roots in human trafficking.

    Geebo even takes the safety and welfare of those unable to defend themselves seriously. Another Geebo policy is that we do not accept ads that deal  in animals. This is because of the number of puppy mills that deal in unhealthy animals but also because of the number of scams that involve animals. However on craigslist you can find a number of either wild, dangerous, illegal or unhealthy animals.

    For a company that professes to be such a pillar of not only the online community but the real world community as well craigslist doesn’t appear to be acting in any community’s self-interest except its own.

     

  • Geebo 8:24 am on May 17, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Safety   

    Online pharmacies could potentially kill you 

    Online pharmacies could potentially kill you

    It’s not news that prescription drugs can be priced out of reach from the people who desperately need them. They may even be desperate enough to respond to a random ad for pharmaceuticals or an online pharmacy. While these ads may appear legitimate, too many of these ads could have dangerous or even lethal consequences.

    Many of these so-called pharmacies are actually pill mills from overseas. They may promise you a brand name medication that you need for cut-rate prices but the odds are that the medication you receive will not be the medication you need. They could potentially be just a mixture of ingredients that have nothing to do at all with the medication that you need and those ingredients could not only lead to your condition being exacerbated but could induce dangerous negative reactions and side effects as well.

    There are other avenues you can pursue to try to get some help when it comes to affording your prescriptions. The obvious one is asking your healthcare professional for samples. Many brand name pharmacies have discount programs that could potentially make your prescriptions more affordable. Lastly, many drug companies offer financial assistance for certain prescriptions.

    Your health is not worth taking dangerous risks over no matter how good the savings may be.

     

    • Sandra 7:54 pm on January 6, 2017 Permalink

      This may be true sometimes, but what’s the other option…not taking any meds because you do not have enough money to afford them?

      Samples used to be an option. I know because I was a drug Rep, and I left more samples with the physicians who had lower income patients to help in this disparity. But, it wasn’t my job requirement, and I’m not sure it would be considered sound business by the company I worked for.

      Nowadays, you can’t get samples like you used to. In offices known for heavy sampling, are no longer. To apply for the free RX programs through the manufactures can be daunting and leave one feeling hopeless.

      The best way to keep drug prices down is by paying the best prices…shop around, and don’t go just anywhere because you just pay a copay. Pay attention to total cost. If you have insurance, someone is still paying for your prescription cost, and the higher the cost only keeps prices higher. Insurance companies, employers, etc all are affected by how we pay and what we pay for.

      The desperate many out there going to overseas online pharmacies? It’s a risk, but there are so many factors that I see as risky to each individual.

      It’s estimated that 10% of all RX drugs, branded and generic, are counterfeit or adulterated somehow, and this isn’t on the black market, it’s within the legitimate pharmaceutical chain. So it goes.

      Another great resource for great drug prices is through GoodRx. They offer discounts on meds, and there are no strings or scams involved. For example, to pay out of pocket for a RX that’s generic and very cheap to manufacture costs about $40. With GoodRx, it’s found at same pharmacies from $7-18!

      Get the app and see for yourself. It’s the real deal, especially if you’re paying out of pocket, this could help you manage your RX and still afford to live!

  • Geebo 9:51 am on April 27, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Safety,   

    New online scam uses iTunes gift cards 

    itunescard

    Police in Upstate New York are telling people to be aware of a new scam taking place on some online classifieds sites. According to authorities scam artists posing as online sellers of a vehicle are asking people to pay with iTunes gift cards. The ‘sellers’ instruct the buyers to call a toll-free number where they are then told to read off the serial numbers from the backs of the cards. The buyer is then out of their money and no vehicle is ever delivered.

    While this scam may only be localized to Upstate New York presently, it could certainly occur in any municipality. Scams like this also tend to ‘go on the road’ so to speak. When a scam is discovered by police in one area it could then easily move on to another. That is unfortunately the way in the digital world of today. The scam artists don’t even have to be in this country.  In too many cases people who have been swindled are often times left with no recourse. In the majority of instances in online commerce it’s often best to deal locally and with cash.

     

  • Geebo 10:35 am on April 26, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: mirror, reflection., Safety   

    Why you should be aware of your reflection when selling online 

    mirror

    There’s a very infamous piece of early internet lore where a man was trying to sell a tea kettle online. As the legend goes the man took a picture of the kettle but its well polished surface showed a reflection of the man who appeared to be in a state of undress.

    If you’re selling items online a reflection that results in some embarrassment could be the least of your concerns. Sometimes it only takes one piece of personal information for a skilled criminal to use it to their advantage for such crimes as identity theft or burglary.

    In order to avoid showing a reflection try using natural light instead of a flash or shooting the object from an angle instead of straight on. Not only will that keep you safer but it will also make the item look more appealing for sale.

     

  • Greg Collier 10:21 am on March 23, 2015 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Awareness, , Safety,   

    Don’t be a Craigslist Killing: Raising Awareness for Safer Face-to-Face Transactions 

    Craigslist KillingsConducting business with a stranger always brings a certain amount of risk – both for buyer and seller. But, in this digital age of classified advertising, where individuals are conducting one-on-one transactions for used cars, sports tickets, furniture or even intimate relationships, the risk of harm grows exponentially.

    Consider the recently-published “Craigslist killings,” a list of 84 people whose lives were cut short over the last 8 years through encounters with people they met via the online classifieds site. Some were involved in encounters that were already risky enough, notably drug transactions and prostitution. But others were innocent victims, using the site to conduct transactions that have been part of the classifieds culture for generations – to buy or sell a car, inquire about a job, find a place to live or just sell personal items.

    The point of the list was not to bash Craigslist itself, though critics often call on the site to take more proactive steps to educate their visitors about safer ways to conduct their transactions. Instead, the list’s authors – a group that’s promoting an initiative called “SafeTrade” – is calling on law enforcement agencies to open their facilities as trading stations where people can meet to conduct their transactions.

    The idea is that anyone looking to take advantage of a would-be buyer or seller or is otherwise looking to do harm to another person likely won’t want to meet in the parking lot of a neighborhood police station. Already, the group has successfully lobbied more than 50 police agencies across the country to open their facilities and/or offer some sort of assistance to help make these transactions safer.

    Simply said, I applaud these efforts – not because the police agencies have become involved and not because this group is highlighting the violence that has taken place as a result of craigslist encounters. Instead, I applaud any effort to raise awareness around the steps that people should take to keep themselves safe.

    That’s one of the reasons I include a prominent link to a “Scams and Shams” page on Geebo. My list of tips on how people can protect themselves when engaging in transactions that originated on the Internet is helpful – but it’s also meant to raise awareness, so that people understand that they should always be aware of people who may be looking to take advantage of them or otherwise cause them harm.

    Obviously, there are some situations where risks will be higher. Those who are meeting about a home rental, for example, have no choice than to meet at that home. But people can minimize their risks by bringing someone with them when they meet the other party, by meeting during daytime hours when others are more likely to be around, by letting others know where they’ll be and providing the information they have about the other person they’ll be meeting.

    There are great bargains to be found on the Internet and it’s safe to say that most people are just looking to make an honest and simple transaction. But there’s also a criminal element out there looking to harm someone else – and being proactive can help keep your name off a list of victims.

    Awareness is key and everyone can do his or her part – even something as simple as sharing this blog post with your social media friends or bringing the SafeTrade Station idea to your own local police department

    If any of this saves one life, it was worth the effort.

     

    • Deanna Lewis 5:05 pm on March 24, 2015 Permalink

      Greg, I live in Maine and the Augusta PD just set up an exchange area in their Libby! Great column!

    • Greg 5:11 pm on March 24, 2015 Permalink

      Fantastic!

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