February 13, 2014 – New York, NY – Startup CraigPhone has released a funding campaign for its new iPhone app. The app, also called CraigPhone, allows users to generate phone numbers equipped with a spam filter and caller blacklist, to reduce the likelihood of being contacted by a scammer when making deals with strangers online. CraigPhone also provides a way for buyers to pay securely with Paypal or credit cards in order to reduce the potential for cash-transaction muggings.
A group of developers from New York created the CraigPhone fraud prevention system as a way to help fight crime that occurs all over Craigslist.
“As a Craigslist user, I’m always getting spam and was once almost mugged when attempting to buy a car” CEO Esco Obong said. “I realized that all of the crime taking place on Craigslist can be avoided if we cut off all communication between scammers and unsuspecting individuals.”
CraigPhone started developing their app in October of last year. In order to utilize these benefits, CraigPhone creates a virtual number that can send/receive text messages, calls and voicemail from any number in the US. When a CraigPhone user receives spam text messages or phone calls from a scammer , they have the option to flag or report the number and prevent that scammer from contacting anyone else in the network. “It only takes a few vigilant flaggers to protect the entire community.” said Mr. Obong.
After months of hard work, the team has launched a pre-order funding campaign on Ramen, a startup dedicated to helping new software products find their first 100 customers. The money CraigPhone plans to raise during their campaign will go towards finishing the iOS application, building the Android version, and pushing out the pre-orders they have already received. They are hoping to sell $5,000 in pre-orders on Ramen and complete the app in 30.
Obong believes the application could become a standard for the Craigslist community, “Craigslist is an incredible platform but with scale comes challenges. Every day I find new stories about identity theft and robberies that occur through Craigslist. We can make a difference and help keep people safe.”
Follow us on twitter @craigphoneapp
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/craigphone
Ramen Campaign: ramen.is/projects/craigphone
About CraigPhone
CraigPhone is an early stage startup focused on providing a means for safer online transactions and communications. The company was founded by 6 software engineers: Esco Obong, Faizan Sattar Solomon Gorkhover, Thinh Nguyen, Nick Kovurov, and Theofanis Melios. CraigPhone is located in New York, NY.
