Safety Center

Safety works both ways

Millions of local transactions happen safely every day, and the overwhelming majority of Adspoty members are honest. But classifieds attract a small number of bad actors, and the best protection you have is knowing the patterns they use. This guide covers the essentials — read it once, trade with confidence.

Meeting in person

• Choose a public place. Busy shopping centers, coffee shops and police-station "safe exchange zones" (offered by many departments specifically for marketplace trades) are best. Many police stations have designated parking spots with cameras just for this.
• Go during daylight and don't let a buyer or seller talk you into a remote, unfamiliar or private location — including your own home for high-value items.
• Bring a friend and let someone else know where you're going and when to expect you back.
• Inspect before you pay. Test electronics, start vehicles, check documents. A seller rushing you past inspection is a red flag on its own.
• Trust your instincts. If the situation feels wrong — the person, the location, the story — walk away. A good deal is never worth your safety.

Paying safely

• Local, in-person deals: cash or a protected method. Count cash carefully; never accept a check that requires you to wire money back.
• Never pay with: wire transfers (Western Union, MoneyGram), gift cards, prepaid cards, cryptocurrency, or "escrow services" you've never heard of. Once that money leaves, no one can get it back. Legitimate buyers and sellers never ask for these.
• Use Adspoty checkout where available. Card payments run through Stripe with fraud protection and dispute rights — and your card number never touches our servers.
• Beware overpayment scams. A buyer "accidentally" pays more than agreed and asks you to refund the difference — the original payment is fake, and the difference you sent is real. Cancel and report immediately.
• Keep payment on the platform. Moving to off-platform apps removes your protection, your history and our ability to help you.

The classic scam patterns

• Too good to be true. A 2-year-old SUV at half its market price "because we're moving." If it's underpriced with an urgent story, assume it's bait.
• Distance pressure. "I'm out of state, my moving company will handle pickup, just pay the shipping fee." You won't see the item or your money again.
• Coded contact info. Photos with phone numbers or watermarks stamped over them, or descriptions pushing you to an external site — these bypass our filters and messaging history.
• Advance fees. Fake "verification fees," "release fees" or "customs fees" to unlock a purchase that doesn't exist.
• Rental bait-and-switch. A rental listing at a suspiciously low rate with photos lifted from a real estate site, pressure to wire a deposit before viewing, or a landlord who is "always abroad."
• Job scams. Any job that pays you before you work, asks you to receive and forward packages, or requires an upfront "training kit" purchase.
• Fake delivery. A "courier service" emails you a tracking page demanding a small release payment — the page and the parcel are both fake.

Category-specific tips

• Vehicles: get a vehicle history report, verify the VIN against the paperwork, and insist on a test drive in a safe area. Never buy a car you can't see in person.
• Rentals: view the property inside and out, verify the landlord actually controls it, and never wire a deposit sight-unseen.
• Jobs: legitimate employers never ask for your bank details or money to apply. Research the company; beware interviews conducted entirely over chat apps.
• Tickets: buy from sellers with history and reviews; meet at the venue and verify tickets before paying.
• Pets: avoid "shipping" pets and any breeder who won't video-call with the animal. Never pay a deposit for a pet you haven't seen.
• Digital goods: use Adspoty's digital delivery so files are exchanged through the platform with a record of the purchase.

Protecting your account

• Use a strong, unique password — and a different one from your email account.
• Adspoty staff will never ask for your password, one-time codes, or payment "to verify your account."
• Watch for phishing: fake sign-in pages and urgent emails. Check the address bar; when in doubt, go to Adspoty directly instead of clicking a link.
• Keep conversations and evidence inside the platform so there's a record if something goes wrong.

Report it — every time

Every listing and member profile has a Report button. Use it for anything suspicious, even if you weren't harmed — reports feed our automated scans and moderation sweeps and protect the next member. Urgent situations can also go to safety@adspoty.com, typically reviewed within 24 hours.

If you've been defrauded: stop all contact, don't pay anything more, save all messages and payment receipts, then report to us, your bank or card issuer immediately, and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov or the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

Trust features that help you

• Verified badges on listings whose sellers completed phone, business or payment verification
• Reviews & ratings from real completed transactions
• In-app messaging that keeps a record of every conversation
• Automated moderation scans plus human review of flagged content
• Stripe-protected checkout — your card data never touches our servers

Stay alert, keep deals local and in-person where possible, and when something feels off, walk away and report it. Safe trading keeps Adspoty worth using for everyone.