An Edmonton resident is warning consumers to look for red flags and protect themselves from secondhand marketplace scams after a very busy weekend.
“I was actually trying to sleep because I work the night shift,” Chris Tanzi said.
“Someone rang my doorbell. I thought it was wrong house … I answered the door and they tried to walk in and they said: ‘I’m here for the couch.’ And I said: ‘Sorry, what?’ They said: ‘I’m here for the couch you sold me.’ I said: ‘I’m not selling anything.’
“About 20 minutes later, three cars pulled up all around the same time. A few people came to the door. Same kind of thing. They said: ‘We’re here for the couch’ and I said: ‘I’m not selling a couch. You must have the wrong address.’
“At that point, I close the door and I’m thinking to myself: ‘Someone must be playing a prank on me.'”
Tanzi’s doorbell rang non-stop Friday evening and all day Saturday. He estimates between 20 and 30 people came by expecting to pick up a couch they thought they’d purchased on Facebook Marketplace. His address was given by the alleged seller as the pickup point.
“People came back and they said: ‘We’re out $600 and so are these people over here, the other ones in their cars pulling up.’ They seemed angry at me at first and so they were like: ‘We’re going to call the police,’ and I was like: ‘Good, call the police.'”
Tanzi ended up calling police to report the scam, especially since people had lost money and they were being given his address.
“It does feel icky, for sure,” he said. “It doesn’t feel good.
“My partner and I both work in the healthcare realm. Just with everything going on right now, it kind of makes us nervous that at first I thought somebody was targeting us. I’m hoping that it was random,” Tanzi said.
“I completely understand why people are upset, but I’m not the person to be upset at. I’m also being duped in this.”
Saturday, the confused visits intensified.
“The ad was still up and we just got people coming and coming, trucks from two hours out of town with trailers, U-Hauls, my neighbours are coming out,” Tanzi said. “It was the whole day, non-stop.
“It was a wild weekend.”
Eventually, Tanzi and his partner put a note on the door explaining they didn’t have a couch for sale and the people were given this false address.
The note told them they’d been scammed and provided a police case number — #23-306194 — encouraging them to contact police about the crime.
The Edmonton Police Service is investigating and told Global News there were at least six reports of fraud in relation to this incident.
When it comes to online classified ads and buying/selling safety, EPS received 469 reports of buy and sell scams in 2022.
Tanzi said he wanted to talk about this because online scams are still happening and anyone can fall victim.
“Look for those red flags and don’t give money or personal information until you’re actually in front of the person and item.”
He hopes police are able to get to the bottom of this and figure out who’s responsible.
“Hopefully some of the folks who lost some money are able to get that back and also go into their next purchase keeping in mind to not send the money unless you get there in person.”
Online buy-and-sell safety tips:
Do not meet in a secluded place or invite strangers into your home. Suggest meeting during the day at a public location, ideally with video surveillance, such as one of the Buy and Sell Exchange Zones.
Edmonton police and TELUS created designated areas in police station parking lots across the city that have video cameras to record exchanges of online purchases for people’s safety and security. They can be found at the southwest, southeast, west and northeast divisions.
Have someone come with you when you meet. If you cannot arrange for someone to accompany you, let friends or family know where you are going, what time you are meeting and all the details about who you are meeting.
Ask the buyer for photo ID. Take a photo of it for your reference.
Buying or selling a vehicle? Offer to meet at an automotive garage where the vehicle’s quality can be assured, instead of offering a test drive.
Do not disclose to the seller how you will be paying if it’s not necessary.
Obtain a bill of sale and verify the seller’s identity through photo ID.
Ask the seller why they are selling the property.
Take screenshots of the advertisements, the advertisement ID number, the seller’s contact information and all communications.
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