Castings on Craig’s List: Are they legit?

So I have constantly asked myself, “how safe is it to post your resume and headshot to unkown users on Craig’s List?” This is a very serious and legitamate question that probably crosses the mind of many unsigned actors attempting to build up their demo reel and get on-camera experience. Though I question if I should even apply for the castings, I still find myself in the Talent/gigs section about 2-3 times a week searching for upcoming castings. Well I finally got a gig for an up & coming artist’s video shoot. I was to show up at a studio at 6:30 in the morning, there was no pay and copy of video would be provided as pay. I agreed to the terms. Once I hung up the phone, I said to myself what if the person on the other side of the phone is a crazy, what if this person is a criminal, what exactly do they want me to do in this video? Any smart person would realize reading this that these are all questions you should ask BEFORE you agree to participate! Luckily everything turned out well. I got a small part in a video and this weekend I am actually reading for principal role in a DV short film project, that I could possibly be cast in. So is Craig’s List legit? So far I have not run into any scam artisit; its seems to be a good bartering system going on at Craig’s; production companies need talent at non-union rates, and talent need exposure to get them into the union door. In the end we are both getting something out of the deal. I will say this though; All the Castings that I’ve gotten called for I am sure to let someone know the address  and contact person of where I’m going. I do a search to see if I can find the production company online.  And if I decide to go to the casting, I make sure that I’m comfortable with the surroundings, its a public place , and if I can, I have someone I trust along with for the ride!  My reading for the DV short is this sunday afternoon at Burbank library..nice public location, lots of  sunshine, very safe in my opinion. I just say be sure to use discretion if you decide to utilize Craig’s list. There are definitely other places that you can search for castings, like back stage, LA Casting, Actor’s Access, etc. These are all great places to start and legitamate; they also incur a monthly fee to access the information. I plan to join Actor’s Access in the very near future, but at this moment in time Craig’s list is an alternative to this small waiting period in my career.