Gave away a free dog crate and got a scam text 2 days later

Posted a wire dog crate on here Tuesday, met a nice woman at the Target parking lot on 5th, no issue. Then Thursday I get a text from a random number claiming the crate broke and my 'giveaway' caused their dog to get hurt. They wanted $300 for vet bills. I blocked them and kept the screenshots. Has anyone else had people try to shake them down after a Buy Nothing meetup? I still want to give stuff away but now I'm second guessing every handoff.

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oscarb718d agoMost Upvoted

Did you report the number to your carrier or the scam text line at all? I had something similar happen with a free bookshelf and honestly, the play is to mention it in the Buy Nothing group so other people know, since these scammers sometimes hit multiple people in the same area. I also started doing all handoffs at the local police station lobby, which sounds extra but it's public, well lit, and has cameras, so it kills most of the sketchy follow-up stuff. The $300 vet bill thing is a classic setup, they count on you feeling guilty and just paying to make it go away.