Police are telling the public to exercise greater caution and, where possible, use a “reputable online site”.
The post gives a few tips for staying safe while buying and selling.
One recommendation is to avoid meeting in isolated or unusual locations.
One poster said she asked buyers to meet her at the Counties Manukau Police Station carpark, noting “then if they don’t turn up, it’s not meant to be”.
Another reiterated that idea, writing “in Australia, the police have agreed to people meeting outside the local police station to handover or receive goods in person”.
Other safety suggestions centred on verifying the legitimacy of the profiles, noting that new or blank profiles pose more of a risk.
In some final words of wisdom, police said “if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is”.
It follows an incident last month where an Australian man was thrown from a balcony over a Facebook Marketplace dispute.
The ABC News reported a 52-year-old seller was beaten and pushed over his Gold Coast veranda after getting in an argument with a buyer.
