Craigslist warning
 

Just wanted to let everyone know that I was browsing the used car section and did not respond to any ads. The next day I get an email from one of the dealers asking if they give me any more information on the vehicle I was interested in. The only way this would be possible is if Craigslist loaded some sort of spyware on my PC, retrieved private information on my machine and shared it with the dealer. I looked at their terms and conditions and found nothing there allowing them to do this. I also emailed them asking about it and have yet to hear back from them.

That's crazy then again all our phone conversations are now recorded so why not?

Never underestimate the insidious power of greed.

Cynical? Me? Perish the damn thought!

I browse craigslist car section almost daily for years (work pc, home pc, Ipad and smartphone) and have yet to get a dealer call or email or fax or even a text message

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

I got a call on my cell the other day.

A real live voice.

He said " I called you about the on line survey you responded to."

I was up to my something in something else and a little short with him. Working . Never thought about my wife doing some survey.

I guess I don't get my chance at the PCH $5000 for life. :rolleyes:

Was the Email from craigslist or the dealer directly to your computer? Did you reply to one of the ads, it could have been a dealer in disguise.

CL wouldn't have installed spyware unless you visited a url from CL that installed it, or you already had it. Anyway, spyware is probably not even involved. Retargeting is a common practice and why you see ads for a commercial site you visited on another site that's totally unrelated (including this one.) They just read the cookies on your machine.

If you visited that dealer's site, especially from a hyperlink on CL, that's all it takes.

This is why I run my computer with the equivalent of a pinched soda straw connecting it to the Web. I only allow cookies from a very limited number of sites, I don't allow ANY third party cookies and I am real careful about clicking on links. There are certain online vendors who I no longer frequent because of the way they run their websites. Tirerack is the latest place to change the way their website works so it is now unusable to me.

I use Firefox. It has a Private Window feature that does not keep cookies or your browsing history. When you exit the private window, it erases all info about the session.

Several years back, we visited an upscale restaraunt in New Orleans. Paid cash. Two weeks later recieved a thank you note in the mail. Still haven't figured that out.:confused:

Firefox. Works really well so far.

I just got a domain name for myself, and I am setting up a private email account.

You have to pay an annual fee for the domain and the email but it is worth every penny. No one or any bots will be reading my emails anymore.

Where has this country gone........

I would not bet on that.;)

Did you have a smart phone in your pocket? That's all it takes. Might even work with a standard cell phone, I don't know for sure.

That's why I refuse to own a dumb phone with lots of personal stuff in it.