Staying Safe Online: Trade Me

Trade Me is New Zealand’s online marketplace that connects people to complete a transaction, find a job or form a relationship. Here are some tips from the experts at Trade Me HQ to help keep you safe when using the site, and what you can do if you encounter a problem.

Advice from Trade Me

Trade Me is New Zealand’s leading online marketplace and classified advertising platform. Our members can buy, sell, get a job, meet a partner, find a home, sort insurance, and much more. We work hard to make sure Trade Me is a safe and trusted environment 24/7/365. We’re always working to protect and promote our consumers. Get their top tips now.

Safe buying tips

• Never send money outside New Zealand
• Never pay via instant money transfer like Western Union
• Use Ping or Afterpay to pay for trades to ensure you are covered by Trade Me’s Buyer Protection programme
• Always complete your trade using the Trade Me website so you get the benefits of our trust and safety tools
• Check the sellers feedback history and research the item before you buy.

Keep your account secure

• Don’t give others the password to your account
• Always keep your password safe, see http://trade.me/password
• If using a shared device, always logout to end your session
• Keep your browser updated, and use its anti-phishing filter in your browser settings

Trade Me usernames

• Your Trade Me username shouldn’t be the same as the first part of your email address
• If your email is [email protected], your username shouldn’t be johndoe123
• If it is the same, you increase your chance of people trying to scam you with trades outside of Trade Me

If your trade goes wrong

• It is important to keep in touch with the seller until your trade is complete.
• If despite this the seller doesn’t sort it out, here’s some information to help.
• If your goods haven’t arrived in a reasonable timeframe; http://trade.me/W
• If your item turns up and it’s not as described: http://trade.me/nad

Reporting  content

• If you are the victim of harmful or inappropriate content, please report it to us
• Every listing has a community watch badge through which you can report a listing to us
• For help with inappropriate feedback, check out: http://trade.me/feedback
• We have heaps of info in our Help section: http://trade.me/help
• Report suspicious emails or activity to [email protected]

STAYING SAFE ONLINE GUIDE

This content is adapted from Netsafe’s  Staying Safe Online which is available to download in PDF format here. The Guide offers practical tips from some of the most popular digital platforms including Netflix, Google and Instagram.