What Do I Do If Someone Posted My Phone Number on Craigslist?

Even though Craigslist has plenty of benefits, some users may use it for malicious reasons. If someone posts your number on Craigslist, these helpful tips will assist you with removing your number from Craig's list.

Adam Goldkamp is the editor / author responsible for this content.
Nov 14, 2019

Even though Craigslist has plenty of benefits, some users may use it for malicious reasons. If someone posts your number on Craigslist, it becomes available to anyone who can see it. You will suddenly start to get texts and phone calls from unknown numbers. Some of the callers may attempt to harass you. Blocking the phone numbers is an obvious step but it is not enough.

Having your number on Craigslist is not safe. Anyone can see it and call you. The worst thing about it is that some users may use your phone number to track you and get your personal information. They may impersonate you and try to steal from you. Others may try to blackmail you using your sensitive personal information.

If you choose to leave your phone number on Craigslist, use a disposable phone number instead of your personal one. Certain apps may get your phone number

Your number may be harvested electronically for use in scams or robocalls. However, this is a very rare occurrence.

Flagging the Post

If someone made a post and included your phone number, you can flag down the post. When you flag a post, you are marking it as inappropriate. If you can get a lot of people to flag the post, Craigslist will take it down.

Craigslist is one of the most popular sites for classified advertising. You can post an ad for anything. Even though you can get lots of helpful content, the site also attracts scammers. The flagging option is one of the best ways to report problems.

How to Flag an Ad on Craigslist

Open the ad you hope to flag and click on the option 'Prohibited.' You can find it at the top left of the page. There is no specific number of flags that it takes to flag an ad. However, if a lot of people flag the ad from a unique IP address, it is likely to be taken down.

When trying to flag an ad, you have two options. Some of them include the following;

1. Getting your friends and family members to flag the post on your behalf

2. Flagging the post yourself with the help of proxies

Doing it Yourself

If you live in an area where there aren't many people posting on Craigslist. It is possible to have an ad removed by flagging it two or three times. If, however, you live in a highly populated area, you may need to flag it many times for it to be removed.

Every computer or laptop has a unique IP address. Regardless of the number of times you flag an ad, it will only be counted as one flag. You can use proxies to increase the number of flags. It is like having multiple IP addresses

Using Your Family and Friends

You may use your friends or family members to flag a post. Ask them to flag it using as many IP addresses as possible. If you get members of your circle to flag the post multiple times, it will be taken down.

When you realize that someone has posted your number on Craigslist, create a text, messaging, or WhatsApp group. Add all your friends and family members and ask them to flag the post on your behalf. They just need to be consistent and patient

If you need to get help from Craigslist, you should contact the customer support team. If you contact them on the phone, you should get help in a few minutes. You may also get support through Craigslist email. Craigslist does not offer support through their social media sites.

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Adam has been tirelessly trying to help customers find the best tips and tricks to get through phone trees and writing many guides for prickly customer service problems. He's been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Inside Edition and Bloomberg.
What Do I Do If Someone Posted My Phone Number on Craigslist?

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Craigslist

Asked 5 years ago
Updated 5 years ago
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Craigslist
Someone Posted My Phone Number
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Report fraud
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Someone Posted My Phone Number

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