The overwhelming majority of marketplace users are trustworthy and well-meaning.
With billions of human interactions, the incidence of violent crime related to marketplace is extremely low. Millions of violent crimes occur in the U.S. each year: 10,000+ homicides, 600,000+ robberies, 5 million assaults.
Vanishingly few of these are marketplace-related. Nevertheless, please take the same common sense precautions online as you would offline.
When meeting someone for the first time, please remember to:
1 - Insist on a public meeting place like a cafe, bank, or shopping center.
2- Do not meet in a secluded place, or invite strangers into your home.
3 - Be especially careful buying/selling high value items.
4 - Tell a friend or family member where you're going.
5 - Take your cell phone along if you have one.
6 - Consider having a friend accompany you.
7 - Trust your instincts.
Taking these simple precautions helps make marketplace safer for everyone.
For more information about personal safety online, check out these resources:
