At Christmas time, we can sometimes receive an unwanted gift, spend too much, and then regret our purchases later, say police.
If you plan to sell your unwanted items, make sure you take care when doing so. Some districts have a safe trade zone, but if your town doesn’t, then consider the following advice.
Safety tips when choosing a place to meet, as recommended by the police:
- Meet in a public, well-lit area or consider only trading in daylight hours.
- Trade near, or in front of, a known/working CCTV camera, in busy foot-traffic or perhaps by a Police station.
- Don’t go to the transaction alone.
- Make sure a friend or family member is aware of the transaction details
- Don’t go into someone else’s house, and do not allow them into yours
- Be extra cautious when buying or selling valuable items such as vehicles and jewellery
- Only use cash to complete your transactions and never deposit money into a person’s account without receiving the item first.
Trust your instincts, if it sounds like a scam, it probably is. If somebody is not willing to come to a safe trading zone, it is probably not a legitimate transaction.
Call 111 in an emergency if something is happening right now, illegal or suspicious. If it’s already happened you can provide information via the Police non-emergency number – call 105 or go online at 105.police.govt.nz.
Image credit: Cytonn Photography
