Posted on 02/10/2010 7:46:50 PM PST by JoeProBono
RIVERSIDE, Ohio - A local official in Ohio was the target of an Internet hoax that sent a string of strangers to his house to cart away his belongings, authorities say.
Riverside City Councilman Mike Denning and his wife were stunned to see trucks and trailers arrive Jan. 29, driven by people responding to an online craigslist.org ad, the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News reported Wednesday.
The anonymous posting listed Denning's address and said the couple were leaving the country and giving away their things, the newspaper said.
Police say they will ask a judge for a subpoena to serve on craigslist to reveal who placed the ad.
"Hopefully that will help us identify the poster," Riverside Police Chief Mark Reiss said, adding the person could face misdemeanor menacing or stalking charges.
Craigslist said the Web site would cooperate.
"Use of craigslist for criminal purposes inevitably leads to apprehension and prosecution," spokeswoman Susan Best said. "An electronic trail to the perpetrator is created, and craigslist actively cooperates with law enforcement."
there is also a riverside in cincinnati.
My favorite is my friend whose brother was turning 40 years old. My friend placed an ad for "Wanting to Buy" a walker, electric scooter, or cane. He then listed his brothers phone number. The ad said he would pay "top dollar". His phone rang for four days straight...
Did people actually start taking things without asking or did they just show up?
This has happened before. I remember one ad was run when the owners were not at home, with them only to come home to a bare empty house, with the plumbing fixtures even gone.
Craigslist should ban any postings that say “come and get it” from any location other than a public sidewalk or street (i.e. no problem with “curb alerts” for things that have already been put out for next day’s trash pick-up). And it shouldn’t wait for subpoenas to provide information to law enforcement AND the property owner about who posted such announcements. This would stop quickly if any such postings that were flagged promptly got ALL available info on the poster forwarded to applicable law enforcement and property owner. There have been a number of awful cases where perfectly innocent people came home and found everything of value that they owned had been carted off.
And they just sat quietly by and watched people cart off their things? Looks like they would have at least spoken up.
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