Oodle can help you find great deals through local classifieds. The vast majority of posts are safe and legitimate, but unfortunately there are people who use online classifieds to try to trick others. Please follow our simple guidelines to protect yourself when using Oodle.

Local Classifieds are Person-to-Person

At Oodle, we believe classifieds are best done locally. The easiest way to ensure that you're getting what you want is to go see it in person. Choose a meeting place where you feel comfortable -- either go with a friend or meet in a public place. Get to know your seller. Ask questions. Make sure he or she is a legitimate source.

Exchanging cash in person is the safest way to ensure a legitimate transaction. Be suspicious of sellers who either request payment by wire transfer or money order or ask that the money be sent overseas. Look for warning signs of fraud. If sellers are unclear about their location or the origin of an object, be suspicious. Beware of any requests for your bank account, social security number, or other personal information. To see what some actual scams look like, read our sample scam emails.

How to Spot a Scam

We're seeing more frequent fraud activity in Pets, Motorcycles and Jobs.

Look out for:

• Pedigreed pets that are free except for a shipping charge.
• A buyer who wants to overpay (using a fake cashiers check), and asks you to send back the difference.
• Birds that are shipped from overseas (see the complete list of countries on the no-imports list).
• A buyer/seller who wants to use Western Union or Moneygram.
• A job that requires a deposit to "secure" the position.

For more information read our example scam emails.

... will instruct my client to issue you a check of $6,500 and you have to deduct your own money ...

... register the puppy with shipping company there ... The price is $300 USD through western union ...

... I wait to have your bank info so that i can go to the bank early to debit your money there ...

What Oodle Is Doing to Combat Fraud

Our first line of defense is our patent-pending fraud detection which automatically removes listings which are scams. Our second line of defense is community moderation where we rely on the help of members of our community. When members of the Oodle community mark a listing as Fraud, it is automatically flagged for review by our support staff. Listings that are marked by our users help us better understand and combat fraud on our site.

Please report questionable listings to us

If you find a fraudulent or suspicious listing on Oodle, please help the community stay clean by reporting it. Simply click the "Report as spam/fraud" or "Report abuse" link from the listing details and we'll take care of removing the listing.

Thank you for helping us to keep Oodle a secure place to shop for classifieds.

What to do if you have lost money

Report the incident immediately to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, and your local police.

For additional advice on detecting and reporting internet fraud:

• National Fraud Information Center
• National Consumers League Fraud Page
• FBI Internet Fraud Page

For more information about scams and how to avoid them, visit Oodle's Safety Center.