If you are planning to make a purchase on Facebook Marketplace or any other online site, local law enforcement is asking you to use extra caution and take any necessary steps to verify that your purchase is legitimate.

Clinton Police Chief Ben Lowers indicates his officers are coming across a concerning trend where residents are responding to items for sale on the Facebook marketplace and other sites and then Venmo-ing or other forms of digital payments and the seller never shows up or the item doesn't exist.

According to Chief Lowers, there is a new trend where local places are being advertised for rent, and after a security deposit is sent, the person accepts the deposit and it comes to light they are long gone or the place being advertised was never available for rent.

Chief Lowers advises caution when purchasing something on the local marketplaces. He encourages paying cash for those items and making sure to have a public place to meet the people selling those items. 

In addition to this new trend, they continue to see the continued scams from spam phone calls, emails, and text messages.