Updated August 21, 2018

A lot of us have bought or sold items online but police advise “smart” buying to avoid purchasing stolen goods.

Criminals can often go undetected online. When things are stolen and reported to authorities they enter the items serial number, if it has one, into an online database. Unfortunately, that database is not available for everyday consumers to access.

In order to prevent becoming a victim of this scam, police suggest that you always ask a lot of questions, ask for pictures, ask for the items serial number if it’s an electronic device and meet in well-lit/populated locations.

Hot items include phones, laptops, musical instruments or equipment such as lawnmowers.

Looking at the profile of the person, seeing what have they sold before, looking at their history, if they’ve been on Facebook for a while or if it’s something that looks like it was created as a scam, are things that should be looked into when making online purchases.

Looking at the sellers profiles on sites like Craigslist, Letgo and the Facebook Marketplace also helps.

Many local police and sheriff’s departments have “safe zones” where you can exchange items outside of their stations.