The Thunder Bay Police Service is warning the public to be aware of possible scams utilizing online classified services like the Facebook Marketplace.
Recently, several reports have been made about so-called sellers accepting money, then deleting their accounts, for items that were likely never for sale to begin with.
In one such incident, a local Facebook user had spotted an advertisement for a couch. They began conversing with the seller, and agreed to send a down payment via email transfer with the remainder of the payment due upon pickup.
The buyer sent the money and was provided with a local address for the pickup. However, when the buyer arrived at the address, they learned the homeowner was not the seller, had no relationship with the seller nor knowledge of the couch.
At this point the buyer learned the original ad and seller’s account had apparently vanished from Facebook.
Another recent incident reported to the Thunder Bay Police Service unfolded in a similar manner, but this time the buyer was looking for concert tickets.
Like before, once the buyer realized they were likely the target of fraud, the original advertisement and Facebook account seemed to have vanished.
These incidents are under investigation by the TBPS’ Fraud Unit.
The Thunder Bay Police Service would like to remind the public to exercise extra caution when making purchases through online classified services like the Facebook Marketplace or Kijiji. Never provide money to a seller prior to meeting them face-to-face and confirming they have the product they are promising to sell.
Learn more about ongoing scams and frauds, and how you can protect yourself, by visiting the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online at: https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
Incident Date
Incident Number
TB23028842 & TB23028854
Location
Thunder Bay