Craigslist

Recently I embarked on yet another apartment hunt. There's few things in this world I dislike more than surfing through page after page of listings trying to de-fishify the fisheye photos that make a 310 ft. studio look like you could play full court basketball, all the while attempting to sift through ambiguous descriptions that make a late eighties 1 bedroom with spectacular view of a brick wall sound like the Taj Mahal.

Up until recently I haven't given it much thought, in pursuit of a killer deal or a gorgeous apartment, I gladly meet total strangers without knowing anything about them other than what they posted in their Craigslist ad. Not anymore, recent headlines (and this is just one example) have begun to give me the willies and make me realize I'm putting myself in unnecessary risk. Alone in an apartment with a stranger and virtually no way to track me back to a strange place I found online. Creepy.

I thought this would be a great place to offer up some of the precautions I have started to take and for you to share your own ways of reducing risk, staying in control, and avoiding a potentially dangerous situation.

• ALWAYS bring someone with you if you're looking at housing or meeting someone at a residence.

• If you're buying something they have posted online, meet in a highly trafficked public area for the transaction.

• Get a phone number and do a reverse phone lookup, we offer a reverse phone lookup that can get you information about people who are associated with cell and landlines.

• Get their name, address and do a free public search, www.isearch.com

• Be realistic. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

What safety precautions do you take?