Kijiji scams: how buyers get caught, and how to avoid it

Is Kijiji safe? Is it legit?

Kijiji is a real, long-running Canadian classifieds site, and most deals on it are ordinary: someone sells a dresser, someone else drives over and pays. Kijiji itself doesn’t sell anything or handle the money. That is the important part. Because you pay the seller directly, the only safety net is the way you buy: meet in person, check the item, then pay.

The risk is real, though, and it is rising across Canada. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) logged more than 112,000 fraud reports and over $704 million in reported losses in 2025, a record. Merchandise fraud, the category that covers fake online sales, accounted for 2,596 reports and $11.7 million. The CAFC also estimates that only 5 to 10% of fraud is ever reported, so the true numbers are far higher.

So the honest verdict: Kijiji is safe for in-person, inspect-then-pay deals, and risky the moment money moves before you have the item in your hands.

Kijiji scams buyers meet

These are the patterns Kijiji, the CAFC and the Competition Bureau warn about, in the order buyers tend to meet them.

Two moves cover nearly all of them: money before you see the item, and a conversation that leaves Kijiji. If you spot either, stop. More on the first in why deposits are the most common Marketplace scam; the same scripts run on both sites.

Kijiji scam texts and emails

Many Kijiji scams don’t happen on Kijiji at all. They start with a message that pulls you somewhere else.

Texts and WhatsApp messages from “sellers”

A seller who puts a phone number in the ad, or answers your first message with “text me, I don’t check Kijiji”, is moving you out of Kijiji’s messages. Off Kijiji there is no record the site can act on, and it is easier to send you links. Keep the conversation on Kijiji until you’re standing in front of the item.

Verification codes

A common trick: the other person says they need to “make sure you’re real” and sends a code to your phone, then asks you to read it back. That code lets them take over an account or set up a phone number in your name. The US Federal Trade Commission’s verdict on sharing a code you didn’t ask for: it’s a scam, every time. The CAFC gives the same advice: never share a security code with anyone.

Fake Kijiji emails

Phishing messages copy Kijiji’s look and say your ad was flagged, your account will close, or you must “verify” within 24 hours. Kijiji says it will never ask for your password by email, and won’t ask for banking or card details, or ID, by email or text. Go to kijiji.ca yourself rather than tapping the link.

Fake e-Transfer and payment emails

These mostly hit you when you sell, which most Kijiji buyers also do. A fake “payment received” email asks you to log in to your bank through its link. Real Interac e-Transfer notifications come from [email protected], deposit through your own banking app or etransfer.interac.ca, and never carry attachments. Interac’s advice is to check the sender for misspellings and to set up Autodeposit, so money lands without clicking anything. Check your bank balance, not the email.

Cheques and certified cheques

Also seller side, and worth recognising: a buyer sends a cheque, certified cheque or bank draft for more than your price, then asks you to send back the difference. The cheque bounces days later. The CAFC lists overpayment as a standard method. Never refund an overpayment, and confirm any cheque or draft by calling the issuing bank on a number you looked up yourself. E-Transfer scams on Kijiji covers the payment tricks in more detail.

How to report a scammer on Kijiji

Report the ad inside Kijiji first, then the people who can do something about money.

1. Stop paying and keep everything. Kijiji’s advice: keep copies of the messages, payment records and any other documents. Screenshot the ad and the seller’s profile too, because scam ads disappear fast.
2. Call your bank or card issuer the same day. An e-Transfer that hasn’t been deposited can sometimes be stopped; one that has usually can’t. A credit card can be disputed.
3. Report the ad on the website. Open the listing, scroll to the bottom and, under the seller’s details (Listed by), click Report Ad. Pick the reason that fits, add details in Tell us more, and submit.
4. Or report it in the app. Open the listing, scroll to the bottom and tap Report Listing, then choose a reason and submit.
5. Report to the police. Kijiji says any loss of money or property must be reported to your local police yourself; it works with police but can’t file for you.
6. Report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Online through the national Report Cybercrime and Fraud system, or by phone at 1-888-495-8501. Reports help even when the money is gone.

Kijiji asks you not to report ads through its help desk, because the support team can’t review or remove listings from there. Choose the closest reason too: marking spam as a scam slows down the review.

How Sift helps on Kijiji

Sift is a free browser extension for Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji. On a computer, in Chrome, Edge or Brave, it reads each Kijiji ad as the page loads and adds small chips to the photo, so you see the warning before you write to the seller.

• “Check this” chips on ads that ask for a deposit or payment first (e-Transfer first, gift cards, wire, Zelle, PayPal friends), want to move off Kijiji (WhatsApp, “text me at”, phone numbers, email addresses), come from a seller who isn’t there (“moving out of the country”, shipping only for a pickup item), or are priced at under half the going rate for that search.
• Green chips for good signs: one owner, service records, a receipt, the original box, a clean title or Carfax, warranty left.
• Top Ads hidden. Kijiji’s paid Top Ads sit above your results and ignore your sort order. Sift takes them out so you read real listings first.
• Reposted ads marked. An item relisted to look new gets a ↻ Reposted badge, with the date and price Sift first saw it.
• One-click checks. Run the ad’s photo through Google Lens to spot a stolen picture, or look up what the item sold for on eBay.

It doesn’t catch every scam, and it doesn’t claim to. The chips point at wording and prices; a careful scammer can write a clean ad, and an ad with no chips isn’t a safe one. That’s why they say “Check this”, never “scam”. More on how the checks work on the scam checker page, and the same patterns on Facebook in Facebook Marketplace scams.