In Pembroke, Ontario, a simple handshake symbol painted on parking spaces is sending an important message: buying and selling items online should never come at the expense of personal safety.
Outside the Pembroke Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) station at 77 International Drive, newly designated parking spaces are part of Project Safe Trade, an initiative designed to give people a safer place to meet when completing transactions arranged through online marketplaces.
As online shopping and secondhand sales continue to grow, more people are meeting strangers to exchange cash, electronics, furniture, clothing, and other goods. Although many of these transactions go smoothly, some can expose buyers and sellers to scams, theft, counterfeit products, or potentially dangerous encounters.
Project Safe Trade aims to reduce those risks by encouraging people to complete their exchanges in a public, monitored location rather than inviting strangers to their homes or meeting in isolated areas. The designated spaces are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and users do not need to make an appointment.
The initiative is particularly relevant as the holiday shopping season approaches, when online buying and selling often increases. People searching for discounted gifts or hoping to sell unwanted items may find themselves arranging meetings with individuals they have never met before.
Constable Mike Mahon of the Upper Ottawa Valley OPP has emphasized the importance of taking precautions. One warning sign is when someone refuses to meet at an established safe trading location without offering a reasonable explanation. While that refusal does not automatically mean the person is dishonest, it may be a reason to reconsider the transaction.
However, buyers and sellers should understand what these locations do—and do not—provide. Police officers will not act as witnesses to routine exchanges, verify the authenticity of merchandise, negotiate prices, or mediate ordinary disagreements. Their presence offers a safer setting, but it does not guarantee that every transaction will be legitimate. If a situation develops into a criminal matter, police can intervene as appropriate.
Technology analyst Carmi Levy also encourages consumers to do their homework before agreeing to meet. Checking a seller’s profile, reviewing previous ratings, asking for additional photographs, and confirming important details about an item can help identify suspicious offers. Buyers should be especially cautious of prices that seem unrealistically low, pressure to pay in advance, or requests to move conversations to unfamiliar platforms.
The OPP recommends several additional precautions for anyone buying or selling online:
- Meet in a busy public place. Choose a designated safe trading zone whenever one is available.
- Bring someone you trust. Having a friend accompany you can provide additional reassurance.
- Arrange daytime meetings when possible. Good visibility can make it easier to assess your surroundings.
- Keep records of communications. Save messages, receipts, payment confirmations, and details of the agreement.
- Inspect items before paying. Check that the product matches the advertisement and works as expected.
- Use caution with payments. Avoid sharing unnecessary personal or banking information, and be wary of unusual payment requests.
For people selling valuable items, it is also wise to avoid sharing their home address, personal schedule, or other sensitive details with strangers. If a buyer or seller makes threats, behaves aggressively, or changes the agreed arrangements in a suspicious way, leaving the meeting is often the safest decision.
Ultimately, Project Safe Trade is built around a straightforward idea: people should be able to participate in online marketplaces without feeling that they must risk their safety to complete a deal.
The handshake symbol represents more than an agreement between a buyer and a seller. It represents an effort to make everyday exchanges safer by giving people a practical alternative to meeting strangers in private.
As online marketplaces become an increasingly common part of everyday life, choosing where to meet can be just as important as choosing what to buy. A few simple precautions—and a willingness to walk away from a suspicious deal—can help prevent a bargain from becoming a costly or dangerous mistake.
