Police are offering advice to people selling and buying items through online marketplaces after reports that a game console was stolen in the High Peak.

The theft occurred in Buxton on Sunday 5 March after a Facebook Marketplace sale for a Nintendo Switch was agreed. 

When the man came to pick up the item he showed a transaction from his account to the sellers, but it was later found that the transaction hadn’t gone through. 

Officers are investigating the incident and have released the image of a man they would like to speak to as part of their enquiries. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact them, through their website, private messages on social media or by calling 101, quoting reference 23000138388. 

The advice from police is: 

• If you’re meeting to exchange items, make it at a busy, public place and take a friend or relative along. 

• Avoid giving too many personal details such as your address, email, or phone number. 

• If a buyer becomes pushy, aggressive or makes you feel uncomfortable, don’t be afraid to block them and report them to Facebook. 

• Always check your account or third-party payment facility to ensure a payment has been cleared before handing over or posting items 

• Do not use links or websites supplied by the buyer to check for payment, as these can be made to look genuine. Log in through your own trusted site on your own device. 

• If something doesn’t feel right about any transaction, trust your instincts, and cancel it. 

If you’re at all worried by the behaviour of anyone contacting you through an online selling site, contact the police. 

If you think you have been a victim of fraud report it to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud reporting centre by calling 0300 123 20 40 or online by visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk

Read more from the Glossop Chronicle

Click here for more of the latest news

Click here to read the latest edition of the paper online

Click here to find out where you can pick up a copy of the paper