Stolen goods slip through net

Websites are increasingly becoming a haven for stolen goods - and police, it seems, are powerless to stop it.

Despite most websites, such as TradeMe, keeping an electronic record of sellers' details, claims lodged with insurance companies by people who have had property stolen and later onsold on the web are on the rise.

Frustrated insurance companies are now trying to fight back, saying they want to work directly with internet companies in a bid to stamp out the problem.

They may have to go it alone, as police say with the number of unassigned cases on the books the chances of devoting resources to stolen-property claims are slim.

Website auctions were now rapidly becoming a "quick and easy way" to offload stolen property.

IAG NZ - which trades under the State and NZI Insurance brands - confirmed it was investigating working with online auction sites to gain access to certain details.

For insurance companies it was a two-sided issue - thieves selling stolen goods on the web, plus people selling their own property, then claiming it on insurance.

This all comes too late for one Auckland couple who had a $1000 twin-buggy pram stolen from their home in February - and then within two hours of the theft found the item for sale on TradeMe.

A quick call to police by the angry couple prompted Sergeant Scott Leonard to contact the TradeMe site and retrieve the seller's address, which was near the pram's owners'.

However, a "brief" look at the pram was not enough to confirm whether it was the stolen item.

"Let's just say suspicion doesn't cut it with the courts," said Mr Leonard.

The couple were told by police to bid for their own buggy and contact them if they won the auction.

But as soon as they started bidding, the sellers banned them from the auction, out of what they believe was suspicion that they might be the original owners.

The item eventually sold for $860.

TradeMe business manager Mike O'Donnell said it could cancel auctions only by police request.

"Otherwise it could be anyone wanting to stop a sale."

He said this was the only incident of its kind in recent times - and believed it was "very uncommon" for the website to be used as a vehicle for selling stolen property.

He said if people believed there was something suspicious about an item for sale they could click the sheriff's badge on each auction site which would assist them in contacting the police.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY