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It\u2019s the season of giving – and scamming. With the rise of online shopping and Christmas right around the corner, people are going to the internet to buy and sell items during the holidays.<\/p>\n
Ashley Marler\u2019s family has used Craigslist to sell cars, treadmills, and even dolls. But with the convenience of buying and selling on websites like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace also came a sense of uneasiness for her parents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think in the beginning, both of them were uncomfortable by the idea of Craigslist, just with all the bad media, and like all the stories about things that have happened with people with transactions,\u201d said Marler, a USC student from Greenville.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marler said that when her mother buys items off Craigslist, she always takes her dad with her for safety reasons. The couple use internet exchange safety zones set up by Greenville police.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as you walk into somebody\u2019s house, you\u2019re at their mercy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In the Midlands, the Richland County Sheriff\u2019s Department offers a similar, safe option to people who frequently buy and sell things online: internet safe exchange zones.\u00a0 Safe exchange zones are areas where people can meet up to conduct business exchanges under police surveillance, should anything go wrong.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
While there are a handful of these safe exchange zones scattered across the Midlands, Lt. Chris Potter recommends that you use the exchange zone at the Richland County Sheriff\u2019s Department, because \u201cit\u2019s highly visible, it\u2019s recorded, there\u2019s officers here 24\/7.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that if you are unable to make it to one of the designated exchange zones, you can even request a deputy to come to you, and stand by during the exchange.\u00a0 But above all, his most crucial advice is to never go to an exchange alone.<\/p>\n
Here is a list of safe exchange zones in Richland County:<\/p>\n
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Ashley Marler and her family frequently use Craigslist to buy and sell items.<\/p>\n
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The Richland County Sheriff’s Department offers safe exchange zones, where you can conduct exchanges under police surveillance. <\/p>\n
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