This site is intended for Bellevue College students and community. The majority of folks visiting here are trustworthy and well-meaning and our team does their best to head off spam and scams, to provide you with a safe experience.
However, we can’t vet every ad.
Please exercise caution in regards to your personal safety and security when using this site. Be on the alert for generic photos of apartments or electronics, steer clear of prices that are too good to be true, and be very careful about using PayPal to manage payment transactions. If you need to create a PayPal account, do so by visiting paypal.com directly. It’s generally wise to not follow links in emails from people you don’t know.
If you need to post a phone number, consider setting up a free phone service like Google Voice that allows you to provide a different number for online transactions.
Here are more general precautions to consider BEFORE responding to any ad:
- Never provide or accept payment before meeting in person.
- When meeting, take your cellphone with you and make sure someone knows where you are going and when you are expected back.
- Insist on a public meeting place where there are lots of people. The Bellevue Police Department says you are welcome to have your meetup at one of their stations (phone 425-452-4129). Never meet in a secluded place, and never invite a stranger into your home.
- Never provide any financial information or personal information — for example, bank account number, cashapp logins, social security number, or licenses.
- If they want to pay with a gift card, it’s a scam.
- Fake cashier’s checks and fake bank checks are a thing. Be suspicious of either if they are for more than the amount you requested. Official checks usually contain watermarks, security threads, color-changing ink and other security features. For bank checks, look up the bank on FDIC Bankfind. You can look up the bank phone number (don’t use the one on the check) and call the bank to verify the account.
- If you need to pick up a large piece of furniture from someone you don’t know, consider using a pickup service like Dolly.
- Do what is right for you to keep yourself safe; don’t worry what other people might think.
Listen, a good BC classifieds ad transaction will be one where you are respected as a student and not bullied or taken advantage of. If you receive demands or requirements up front that you are not comfortable with, just hang up. Report suspicious ads — to us or to law enforcement.