Police warn about buying stolen goods online

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - Buying or selling items online has become easier as technology advances and the internet grows. Police advise “smart” buying to avoid purchasing stolen goods.

Lt. Michael Johnson with THE Huntsville Police Department says 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, it’s not available for everyday consumers to access.

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

"It's always a concern of where the item came from, the condition that it's in and definitely stolen items,” said Jonathan Pierce. He has sold and purchased a lot of items online. While having good and bad exchanges, he says overall it’s been a pleasant experience because he uses the tips police advised.

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

"I would probably look at the profile of the person and see what have they sold before, look and see 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,” said Pierce.

He says he always looks at the sellers profiles on sites like Craigslist, Letgo and the Facebook Marketplace.

Many local police and sheriff’s departments have “safe zones” where you can exchange items outside of their stations. You can call your department to find the closest “safe zone.”

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