I've always had good luck with it. Have found several free chickens that people no longer wanted. Sold a saddle to someone in California. Still have one saddle listed but no spam. And found a really good car mechanic plus a great part time job for the winter as a de-icer of planes at out local airport.
I think it must be regional. I'm also in Maine, and I use CL all the time and never have spam or stupid people bugging me. CL in New England is pretty awesome.
Could also be that you had a "competitor" out there with similar things for sale. People will often flag just so that their item stays up & yours disappears...more attention to what they have for sale that way.
Always set up a dummy email account for use with CL. Never use your real name and never post your phone number. I sell cars on CL and we get alot of traffic and a huge amount of spam.
I have used CL and not had a problem. There must be a reason. Choose your words carefully and never address wiseguys in your posting.
As for scams.
NEVER, NEVER ,NEVER respond to a scam no matter how upset you get. Learn to recognize them and yes a private acct just for CL is a wise thing.