Public Safety Alert, Internet transactions, How to protect yourself online

Public Safety Alert, Internet transactions, How to protect yourself online

Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 12:29 PM
14 Division:  416-808-1400

The Toronto Police Service would like to remind the public to be careful when buying or selling merchandise through online classified advertisements.

Safety tips to help you complete your transaction online:

- meet the person in a safe public space to complete the transaction

- tell a friend or family member that you are going to meet someone for a purchase or a sale

- if you can, bring a family member or friend with you

- review all emails and addresses to ensure they are not fake

- search the name of the person you're going to meet, or the name of the business, online to see if anyone has reported that person or business as fraudulent

- read the advertisement completely

- fake websites will have spelling errors and links that do not function, or bad grammar

- do not make the deal outside of the website the item is being sold on (some websites offer money-back guarantees) 

- make sure you read the entire policy of the website before you buy or sell merchandise

- do not provide personal information to anyone over the internet

- do not send money to receive money

- do not wire money to an individual

- do not meet the person at your home

For more information about online scams, click here.

This is not a complete list of precautions that you can take and does not ensure that you will not be defrauded. This will, however, reduce the likelihood of falling for a scam.

For more generalized information about frauds, please visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website.

For more news, visit TPSnews.ca.

Constable Jenifferjit Sidhu, Corporate Communications, for Detective Constable Mickael Ferreira, 14 Division