The Internet is a graet source of information. With just one click, you can access web pages about almost any subject. Most of us know the difference between fact and fiction when we read. Yet,when it comes to the Internet, some people can be tricked. Information can be put on the Internet by anyone. Thus, it is more difficult to know how reliable the information is. Most of the time, this does not harm us. However, for Robert Salisbury of Jacksonville, Oregon, it let to the theft of most of his belongings.
One famous website on the Internet is Craigslist. This website is a collection of classified ads for different cities. Over forty million people use Craigslist each month. If you want to find a job, housing, goods, services, or even advice, you can find an ad for it there. One Saturday, an interesting ad was placed on the Craigslist website. According to the ad, Salisbury had to leave the city suddenly and couldn't return. All of his belongings on his property were free yo anyone who wanted them.
That afternoon, over thirty people visited the address shown on the ad. Though the house was locked, they went through the yard and any other buildings they found open. They took all of the valuable things they could find and began packing them in their cars. While this was happening, the owner of the property came home. Of course, he was shocked by what he saw. The ad on Craigslist had been a hoax. Salisbury had no intention of leaving Jacksonville or giving away anything. When he tried to tell thr people that, they just showed copies of the ad to him. "They honestly thought that because it appeared on the Internet it was true," Salisbury said.
Salisbury called the police, but by the time they arrived most of the people had left. And when they left, they took many of Salisbury's belongings with them!