Police say be wary of social media scams
Online trading scams where some victims have been left up to $5000 out of pocket, have prompted police to urge caution when buying on the internet.
In the past three months, police in Aoraki have investigated 21 complaints relating to online trading scams where a seller pretends to have goods and services for sale but once they receive payment don’t follow through with the deal, Senior Sergeant Dylan Murray said.
‘‘Nineteen complaints involve Facebook Marketplace and payments of up to $5000 being made by buyers to unscrupulous sellers,’’ Murray said.
He said there were risks when trading on all online platforms.
‘‘Facebook buy-and-sell pages and groups are not moderated by Facebook, which means they have been set up by users of Facebook and means there is a greater risk in using them,’’ Murray said.
He said online platforms, such as Trade Me, had been set up specifically for trading and had measures to protect buyers and sellers, including features such as the ability to leave feedback about a buyer or seller, and to make a complaint if the trade did not go ahead as planned.
Murray said the safest option was to only pay the seller after inspecting the goods in person.
‘‘However, if this is not possible it is important to remember that if the deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.’’
He advised to always request tracked shipping when purchasing online and if there were any doubts about the goods or the seller don’t go ahead with the deal.
Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker was pleased police were warning the public about social media sellers.
‘‘They are [social media sites] different from a site like Trade Me, which has a lot of staff dedicated to oversight of sellers,’’ Cocker said.
‘‘Instead, they are more like the old classified section of the newspaper, where people used to put in advertisements and hope to get any response. The police are right to raise concern.’’
Cocker said that with websites such as Facebook Marketplace ‘‘all the responsibility falls on the buyer’’. ‘‘That means you have to be extra careful and really the only guarantee is not to pay until you are certain you are going to receive the goods.’’
Cocker said it had ‘‘definitely’’ received a spike in complaints about online sellers in the past couple of years.
‘‘As people become more comfortable with online trading, the possibility of these scams occurring also increases.’’