Stay Healthy & Avoid Scams

During COVID-19

In order to help ensure the health and safety of our StThomasMarket Community, it is important to observe and apply protocols outlined by Health Canada when trading with other users of StThomasMarket. Your well-being remains our top priority. Please seriously consider whether in-person meetings are necessary.
 
If the transaction you’re making is necessary, please consider the following options: 

• Cashless Payment: Please consider choosing your preferred third party, secure cashless payment method; You’re also able to link your PayPal and StThomasMarket accounts directly when transacting with others if you wish.
• Shipping: If considering sending/receiving the item via Canada Post or other shipping agents, ensure that the agent you’re using is reputable; it’s recommended that if using a shipping agent, that a tracking number is used and additional precautions are taken when sending/receiving items; particularly items of a high value. Increased care should be taken with high value items to ensure both sides are comfortable sending or receiving the item through a postal or shipping service. Please note, StThomasMarket itself does not offer postal or shipping services; it is organized between buyer and seller (agreement should be mutual, and we recommend confirming all details such as service provider, cost, packaging, pick up location and delivery address). Kijiji will not be held responsible for items not received or for any items that do not meet the buyer’s expectations (including where they are not as described).
• Curbside pickup / Drop-off / Delivery: This can be a great alternative to shipping and allows both buyer and seller to inspect the item and make an exchange, all while observing social-distancing protocols.

Other things to consider:
 

• Remote Inspections / Video Chat(s) / Virtual Tour(s) (Long Terms Rentals): Remote inspections via your preferred video conferencing call service, enables Community Members to discuss the transaction, while observing social-distancing protocols; Community Members can also send additional images, to show features/condition.
• Online Applications in Long Term Rentals: Online applications for rental agreements enable the landlord and applicant to interact while observing social-distancing protocols. Be careful of applications that request information such as Age, Occupation, Income, Gender and more sensitive information such as bank or SIN card numbers. These can often be attempts to steal information. Please note that StThomasMarket does not facilitate online applications and we are not involved in any agreements made between the landlord and applicant.
• Clean / Disinfect Items: We recommend cleaning items before and after a transaction as per the Health Canada page on Coronavirus (COVID-19) prevention. Please visit Health Canada to learn more about precautions to take at this time.

Avoiding Scams

At StThomasMarket, your security is a key priority! We act on tips from our user community in an attempt to ensure that only legitimate activity is taking place. This is driving fraudsters to be ever more creative and to find new ways to connect with StThomasMarket users, such as via their mobile phone number. They’ll try tricking you by sending fake SMS messages via the internet asking to be contacted via email.  They do this because they wish to stay off our radar which they can’t do if they reply through the usual channel; our reply email system.  

Please note that they may try to disguise themselves by using local area codes in an attempt to seem legitimate.

Text messages will look and sound similar to this example:

“Am Interested in item, Please email me back at blahblah23445@gmail.com as I am at work”

Be cautious of contact email addresses that contain gibberish or a lot of numbers.  The text itself may also have strange punctuation and spelling.

If you are annoyed by such messages, we suggest that you remove your phone number from your ad. We know that listing your phone number helps transactions move along more quickly, but at this time we have no way of preventing this type of message, so it is your safest bet.

We also recommend that you report these messages to your mobile carrier by sending a text message to the number 7726 (that’s S-P-A-M on most keypads). Your message must include details of the spam message as well as the phone number of the individual who sent you the message.  

Also, remember StThomasMarket always encourages anyone using the site to meet in person. Once the item has been thoroughly inspected, you can pay in cash, or as another safe alternative, pay with PayPal, where you can securely link your bank account, your credit cards and your VISA Debit without the seller knowing your account information.  It’s a quick and easy way to make a payment.

If you have any questions or need clarification, simply contact us and we can help with any questions you might have.