Someone finds an interesting item from a seller they’ve never seen before and makes an offer to purchase. The seller agrees but demands electronic payment before making the sale. That transaction takes place, and that’s the last the buyer sees or hears from the seller — the account was a fraud from the beginning, the item never existed in the first place, or the seller no-shows the pick up and refuses any further contact.
It’s a common scam and one that has been on the rise in Moose Jaw in recent weeks.
That’s led the Moose Jaw Police Service to issue a public warning when it comes to making purchases through places like Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji and other popular online sites.
Police stress the importance of verifying items being purchased before making payment and also caution against buying items sight unseen from an unknown seller.
To further reduce your risk of becoming a victim of online fraud:
- Check out the seller’s online profile to see if they are reputable
- Choose to meet in a public place or have a witness present
- Set up a password for the online money exchange
- Don’t share that password with the seller until you have physically obtained the item
- Don’t give out personal information
- Know when an offer sounds too good to be true
For more information on online scams and how to avoid them, visit https://go.hfcu.org/blog/6-ways-to-avoid-scams-when-selling-online.
