A scam is circulating offering shipping containers for sale on Facebook Marketplace and some community pages on social media.

ContainerCo Sales & Hire General Manager Mark Begbie says would-be buyers have turned up at their sales and hire sites across New Zealand to pick up containers only to realise they’ve been scammed.

"The only problem is they haven’t bought the shipping containers from us and the scammer will likely have blocked you or deactivated their Facebook account by the time you realise buyers have been scammed."

“Potential buyers need to be aware and if it seems too good to be true then it probably is.

“The scammers are also offering delivery at an additional cost, and will even offer cheaper delivery if you ‘buy now’.

ContainerCo and other shipping container sales and lease companies placed scam warning alerts on their websites and social media pages about the scam.

Police have also warned potential buyers to keep their wits about them when buying shipping containers.

Police are also providing advice on steps that can be taken to protect potential buyers when buying items via social media:

• Insist on meeting the seller in person so you can inspect the item for sale before you make a payment to someone you don’t know.
• Do not deposit money into another person’s account before you have received the item.
•  Learn more about the company or person you are buying from – on Marketplace you can tap on the profile on the product listing page to see if you have any friends in common, their marketplace activity, and any ratings they may have received.
• Trust your instincts – if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!

Mr Begbie says if you are the victim of a scam, please report it to Police so that they can investigate it.

“You should only buy from a trusted shipping container seller such as ContainerCo. Please exercise caution and thoroughly verify the authenticity of any container purchases, ensuring they come from official channels only.”

Reports can be made via 105 – either by phone, or online at 105.police.govt.nz

Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

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