PF Weekly Grab A Brew #28: Protect yourself when buying and selling online

I don’t know how many times I’ve read about people getting injured, robbed or sadly killed through buying and selling through online ads. Shopping online for a second-hand bargain is great but not if it comes at the expense of either the seller or the buyer, which for some could end in a not so nice fashion. Car scams keep popping up in the news and it’s about time we took action against these people who just don’t know how to make an honest living without ripping people off.

I’m one who enjoys shopping on Kijiji Canada but I’ve never bought from Craigslist although I’m sure they are one in the same. You can even surf Facebook Marketplace and local online for sale ads in your community on Facebook to buy, sell and/or auction off items you no longer want. That’s great right? You’re making extra money that you can use to put towards your budget or to grow your savings account. So what’s the problem?

The problem isn’t so much what we are doing; the buying or selling, it’s the crazy people out there that are willing to stop at nothing to make a few bucks with these scams. Even if that means to hurt you or rob you of your money when you come to buy. When I was reading an article on Yahoo this morning about a car buyer being robbed of $3200 in Edmonton this past Wednesday when he went to purchase a car it really, fired me off.

On-line Fraud

It just goes to show you that we MUST protect ourselves and even though some of you may think it’s common sense, not everyone has that. We are a trusting society. We can easily be manipulated by someone who is friendly, open and polite when they may just be trying to lure you into a trap. If you ever suspect online fraud you must stay away and contact the website that you are dealing with.

Email fraud and credit card fraud seems to be one of the worst forms of fraud. I get daily emails from fraudsters wanting my personal information or pretending to be someone or a site that they are not asking me to update accounts and credit card information. It’s sad really, but this is what we are dealing with in terms of technology and it’s only bound to get worse. On-line or off-line we must take precautions in all our personal dealings of buying and selling and identity theft.

I this case, the young man, clearly had good intentions to purchase a new vehicle was robbed at knife point, had his money and vehicle stolen after answering the fake ad on Kijiji. Times are getting rough for many and they will stop at nothing and apparently this incident just comes days after an Edmonton guy was robbed and kidnapped then later brought from Edmonton to Calgary after meeting up with buyers for his real online ad on Kijiji offering a vehicle for sale.

You may think I am being harsh when you read what I have to say below but there is nothing in this world that can bring you back once you are gone. Money comes and goes, life does not. There is nothing that can protect you, but you so be informed and drop the tough guy or girl act and be responsible when buying and selling online.

What can you do to protect yourself?

Whether you are buying from Kijiji Canada or any other online entity take the steps to protect yourself so everything goes as planned and you get the bargain you set out to purchase.

Selling online

I always proceed with caution when buying and selling on Kijiji. I talk about selling as well because you never know who will come to your home. Some people freely allow strangers into their homes that come to purchase something. They give out information about when they will be home, when they will be at work and they give their address.

You don’t know the buyer when they come to your house so DO NOT let them in your home unless you have more than one person with you in the home. I know there are instances where items are in the home to be viewed but never do it alone and hide any valuables that might be in plain sight. All it will take is for you to turn your back and it might just disappear on you. If you can get the items you want for sale close to the door, on a porch or even in the garage or back yard it’s better than allowing strangers in your home.

• Don’t give out personal information
• Don’t tell them where you work or when you work
• Don’t tell them if you have kids in the house or their names
• Don’t tell them anything you won’t tell another stranger you don’t know even if they are friendly to you
• Set up a pick-up or viewing time and have a friend or family member with you when selling an item
• Set up a meeting place in public if you can instead of your home if possible
• Always keep a phone close to you if possible
• Keep the lights on in your home or outside your home
• Don’t turn your back
• Only accept cash
• Never give the item unless its paid in full
• Never accept payment options
• Trust no one

Buying online

If you are a buyer on your way to pick something up that you have scored online at Kijiji classifieds Canada for a great deal you have to take caution. If you think I’m being overly protective, maybe I am but when it comes to your life, nothing will bring you back if you are gone. No one will care how macho or responsible you thought you were.

• Never go alone
• Don’t turn your back
• Don’t give out personal information including banking, credit card, social insurance information … NOTHING!
• Only pay in cash
• Refrain from going in a home if you don’t need to especially if you are alone
• If it’s a huge amount of money, leave it in the car locked up, at home or wait to go to the bank. If they want to sell the item they will wait to get your money. Never carry it on you.
• Never bring your wallet or any expensive items with you when you go to meet.
• Never flash your money until the deal is done if you must carry it on you
• You don’t need to give them your personal information unless it’s necessary for the purchase
• If you have a cell phone bring it with you and keep it on you
• Never meet in a dark alley, meet in public areas if you must pick up in a different location rather than a home
• If they aren’t willing to cooperate, forget the purchase and move on
• Trust no one

If in doubt simply contact Kijiji Canada and ask their customer service for more information or you can read, “How do I stay safe while using Kijiji” provided by Kijiji Canada. Protect yourself when buying and selling online; it’s the smart thing to do.

What other tips can you add for buyers and sellers of online Kijiji ads?

Top Recipe

If you haven’t had a chance to check out my new Facebook page The Free Recipe Depot please come around and Like my page. It’s a place where I share recipes and only recipes from blogs and websites from around the web. Each week I will feature my favourite recipe from The Free Recipe Depot out of all those recipes submitted to the Facebook page during the week.

Today the top recipe goes to Life Currants for their Mint n’ Chocolate Chip Cupcakes. We grow loads of mint in our back garden and use it for all sorts of recipes. It’s also great in a cucumber radish salad that we make. It really does bring out the flavour. Although this recipe does not use fresh mint I would certainly give it a try and see what happens.

PF weekly reading line-Up

Here are a few blog posts that I thought were worth mentioning this week from around the web.

Top story: Why I no longer eat cheeseburgers- The Great Jollyhoombah

• Children– Accepting Money From Parents- Thrift Genuity and Do you use skills learned in childhood– Prairie eco-thrifter
• Credit Card– Do you pay off your credit card every month?- Stumble Forward and common credit card mistakes to avoid- Eyes on the Dollar
• Frugal- Frugal or Foolish Paper Towels? – The Outlier Model
• Money- Easy Savings, Parking (see douche alert lol) – Freedom Thirty Five Blog
• Life- How do a more than a million people live on a dollar per day– Money Bulldog
• Organization: Operation Cupboard Clean-out: 5 Quick Steps- Budget Bloggess
  
• Retirement-  Retirement Planning: 3 Tips To Get Started– Club Thrifty
  
• Income– How I made $2700 selling old junk– I am 1 Percent
• Saving– 1500 Days to Freedom shares their performance update for June 
  
• Blog- Housing– How I chose my first home– Give me back my 5 Bucks
• Debt- Paying off debt when dealing with debt fatigue– Frugal Rules
• Show me the Money- Simple ways to get rich slowly- Making Sense of Cents

Have a great week everyone and I hope you enjoyed this edition of my Personal Finance Weekly Grab a Brew #28. Join me again next Friday when we do it all over again.

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