Police Advise Caution When Using Online Markets

The police have issued a statement to the general public saying that there are some less than honourable people offering items for sale on online markets.

The statement comes in the wake of several cases of people being cheated out of money through online markets, such as Bland.is. Vísir reports for example, that one buyer agreed to pay 40,000 ISK for a Samsung phone – 20,000 ISK up front, and then the other 20,000 ISK upon delivery. However, after making the initial payment, the buyer never heard from the seller again.

On another occasion, several buyers were cheated out of 17,000 ISK to 26,000 ISK each when they “bought” tickets to a football game which never arrived.

For their part, Bland.is has actively outted those who have cheated people and have worked closely with law enforcement in tracking them down. Nonetheless, the timeless advice of “caveat emptor” should be had in mind when buying anything online.