TACOMA, Wash. (AP) -- Everything including the kitchen sink was stripped from a rental home after an Internet classified ad invited people to take whatever they wanted for free.
But the landlord says the ad, posted last weekend on the craigslist Web site, was fake.
"In the ad, it said come and take what you want. Everything is free," Laurie Raye told Seattle's KING-TV.
Raye had cleaned out the rental after evicting a tenant. After the ad appeared, the property was stripped of the sink, light fixtures and the hot water heater. Even the front door and a vinyl window were pilfered, Raye said.
Neighbors said they saw strangers hauling items away, apparently looking for salvage material.
Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said Thursday that the ad was posted last Friday and was on the site for less than two hours before users flagged it down.
Craigslist officials "have released all the information we have" about the ad, Buckmaster said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
He said craigslist rarely encounters such false postings, despite receiving 25 million postings each month.
Police said they've seen craigslist problems before. "We've had prostitution things happen, rental scams, fraudulent activity. In this case, it appeared the items were going to be given away, but they were not," police Detective Gretchen Ellis said.
But the landlord says the ad, posted last weekend on the craigslist Web site, was fake.
"In the ad, it said come and take what you want. Everything is free," Laurie Raye told Seattle's KING-TV.
Raye had cleaned out the rental after evicting a tenant. After the ad appeared, the property was stripped of the sink, light fixtures and the hot water heater. Even the front door and a vinyl window were pilfered, Raye said.
Neighbors said they saw strangers hauling items away, apparently looking for salvage material.
Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said Thursday that the ad was posted last Friday and was on the site for less than two hours before users flagged it down.
Craigslist officials "have released all the information we have" about the ad, Buckmaster said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
He said craigslist rarely encounters such false postings, despite receiving 25 million postings each month.
Police said they've seen craigslist problems before. "We've had prostitution things happen, rental scams, fraudulent activity. In this case, it appeared the items were going to be given away, but they were not," police Detective Gretchen Ellis said.
