A note on safety and trust
Most people here are straightforward. The small number who are not tend to behave in recognisable ways, and knowing those patterns is most of the protection you need.
Signs worth slowing down for
- Pressure to decide immediately, or a reason why the usual process cannot be followed.
- A request to move the conversation somewhere private before anything has been agreed.
- An offer that is conspicuously better than everything comparable.
- Any request for a password, a verification code, or a payment by an unusual method.
None of these on their own proves anything. Two or three together is a reason to stop and think.
Habits that help
- Keep conversations on the site until you have reason to trust the other person. If something goes wrong, we can only see what happened here.
- Do not share codes. A verification code sent to you is for you. Nobody legitimate will ever ask you to read one out.
- Take your time. Urgency is the most reliable warning sign there is.
- Write things down. Agree the details in writing, in one place, before anything moves.
Reporting something
Every page and every message has a report option. It takes a moment, it is not public, and the person reported is not told who reported them.
What happens next
- A person reads it. Reports are not handled automatically.
- Serious reports are prioritised over minor ones.
- Action ranges from a warning to removing an account outright.
- You will not always be told the outcome — that is a privacy obligation to the other party, not indifference to your report.
If something feels wrong, report it. A report that turns out to be nothing costs a minute. The other kind costs a great deal more.
If you have been caught out
Tell us early, even if you feel foolish about it — nobody here will make you feel worse, and early reports are far easier to act on. If money or card details are involved, contact your bank first: they can do things quickly that we cannot.