Thunder Bay Police Service introduces new Safe Trade Zone

May 22, 2025

The Thunder Bay Police Service has launched a new initiative to help provide a safe option for people buying and selling through online marketplaces.

The Safe Trade Zone provides members of the public with designated parking spaces captured by video surveillance to complete person-to-person exchanges that had been arranged.

 

The Safe Trade Zone spaces at the police station provides users with an alternative to inviting strangers to their homes or potentially meeting in secluded areas, reducing the risk of thefts or robberies occurring.

 

The designated meeting place also helps sellers ensure they receive their expected funds. Cases of online fraud are particularly difficult to investigate. Repayment or reimbursement of lost funds is rare.

 

The idea was brought forward by police service members and proposed to senior leadership earlier this year where it received approval. The designated spaces were implemented this week.

 

The zone is accessible from the Balmoral Street entrance to the police station property and immediately to the right. Signage is in place marking the designated zone.

 

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Police are cautioning the public to be mindful of text message scams. The Thunder Bay Police Service has recently received a report from a resident who received a text message to participate in an online survey about their local police service. The number that sent the message is not obtainable when called. The Thunder Bay Police Service is not currently conducting a survey, and ones conducted in the past have not involved text message invitations to participate. Scammers will frequently send messages that include links. These may be in the form of invitations to participate in surveys, notification of failed mail delivery, payment issues for a subscription service, or a notice from a financial institution. These messages are scams, especially if they refer to a financial institution where the recipient does not have an account, a service the recipient does not use, or if it refers to a delivery the recipient is not expecting. Do not click on the links and delete the messages. Police urge family members and friends to speak to those who may be vulnerable to being targeted by scams. For further information about various frauds and scams that may be circulating, please visit https://www.thunderbaypolice.ca/safety/fraud-prevention or the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre online at: https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm To make a fraud/cyber crime online report to the Thunder Bay Police Service, please visit: https://www.services.tryrubicon.com/thunder-bay-police-service/online-reports/report/fraud-cybercrime
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