Whether you're looking for an apartment, a couch, or a certain midnight liaison (nobody's judging), remember that Craigslist.org is still a favourite hangout for scammers, and a pretty seedy one at that.

At the other extreme of the recent hilarious story of a man using Craigslist to sell his two children is the disturbing wave of violent robberies directed at bargain-hunting shoppers that respond to fake ads. Police say several incidents have occurred this month, including Todd Cavanaugh of Lima, N.Y.

Looking to buy a computer that he found on the site, Cavanaugh agreed to meet his seller Wednesday night at 7pm in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Feeling that this was harmless enough and eager to acquire his new laptop, he allowed the strange man into the passenger side of his car to complete the deal. At which point, he pulled out a gun and demanded the $1,000 that Cavanaugh had brought for the computer he was supposedly buying. "He asked to see the money and I started to say, 'I'd like to see the computer', and at that point he pulled a black and silver gun out of his bag and pointed it right at me and threatened to shoot me if I didn't give him the money", local news network WHAM reports.

Gripped by a sudden stroke of bravery and perhaps anger, Cavanaugh grappled with his robber, managing to wrestle control of the gun away from him. Calling for help from inside his vehicle, two passerbys in the parking lot saw the commotion and rushed over to help subdue the man until the sheriff's deputies arrived.

The alleged petty thief, identified as Joshua Bennett of Lockport and only 21 years old, has been charged with second-degree robbery and fourth-degree grand larceny.

Despite his close brush with death, Todd Cavanaugh remains undeterred and optimistic in his search for a new computer on Craigslist.

"I love bargains", he admits happily.