You’ve been searching the local listings on Craigslist when you come across a listing for a laptop. As a college student, the $600 dollar laptop is affordable and exactly what you need for school. You contact the seller and agree on a meeting point to purchase the laptop.

This exchange sounds like the typical experience thousands of people have every day through Craigslist’s online marketplace. For one particular college student in San Diego, however, an exchange just like this one took a not-so-typical turn.

When Garrett Berki arrived to pick up his laptop, three men got out of the car and robbed him of his money. As he tried to get a license plate number while they drove away, one pulled out a gun and shot him.

For Berki, what should have been a simple exchange between a buyer and seller turned into a grisly homicide. And this particular murder is not an isolated incident.

While it’s true that ‘Craigslist Killings’ only occur during a small percentage of purchases, the number of murders and robberies has been increasing. Just recently, the count for murders linked to Craigslist exchanges surpassed 100, according to the Advanced Interactive Media Group (AIM).

While some murders were simply robberies gone wrong, as with the Berki case, there have been instances where intended killers sought their victims through Craigslist. Three men were murdered after being lured to a farm in Ohio where they were responding to a listing on Craigslist searching for farmhands. Three women were robbed, and one killed, after responding to a Craigslist posting.

Craigslist is an especially attractive option for criminals because of the anonymity that users can take advantage of when buying and selling. Whether you are buying or selling an item, you have no idea who the stranger on the other end of the deal could be. Craigslist has been criticized for the lack of safety and authenticity of listings on their sight.

So what should you do to avoid becoming the victim in the opening scene of the next Criminal Minds episode when looking to buy or sell things online?

One way to stay safe is by setting up meeting points in open, public places,such as the parking lots of police stations or shopping centers. Don't go alone, and get details about who you are dealing with before you meet them in person.

Another way to stay safe is to consider alternative websites or apps to Craigslist. A safer alternative site designed specifically for college students is a recent startup called Twazer.

Twazer is an online marketplace for locally buying and selling secondhand. Unlike Craigslist, where anyone can post anything, pretending to be anybody, you must have a Twazer account to buy or sell. Accounts have to be linked to Facebook or Google Plus, so that you know exactly who you are buying from. You can also message other users directly through the app without needing to give out your cell phone number or email.

Twazer profiles can be built with items and reviews, giving legitimacy to buyers and sellers. With Twazer, you can know exactly who you are dealing with. Twazer also has added safety features that Craigslist does not guarantee. You can flag a user, and the item and user will be taken down while the Twazer Team reviews the claim.

Not only is Twazer the safer option, but it has many added benefits as well. Twazer will not take a cut of the profit from the item you're selling, and because it is targeted toward college students, the app helps promote community building.

Twazer is a safe, efficient, and fun way to buy and sell secondhand, especially for college students.