Windsor residents who buy and sell items online are questioning their safety after an Ancaster man disappeared when he went for a test drive with two men who responded to his online truck ad.

Tim Bosma, 32, posted his truck for sale on websites including Kijiji and Auto Trader. He is now the subject of a province-wide search.

In Windsor, hundreds of ads are posted on Kijiji.ca every day, leading many to take safety precautions.

Windsor resident Lisa Jacques recently posted her own ad online for a vintage lounge chair.

“You hear things all the time in the news and stuff that things happen to people. Unknown people come into your house," says Jacques.

The headlines in recent years have prompted Jacques to take precaution.

“There's always somebody that I tell or someone’s at my house or I inform somebody, because it definitely makes me feel a little safer," says Jaques.

While Windsor police have not had to deal with a Bosma case of their own, Det. Sgt. Glenn Gervais says they know about these cases all too well.

“The seller should be in control of what they're doing, not the buyer," Gervais.

Police have taken preventative measures by assisting those who have been scammed.

“It's that one or two per cent out there maybe they're coming to look at your couch but maybe they're looking to size up your house," says Gervais.

Gervais has several tips for the public. He says the seller should meet the buyer in a public place.

“Tim Hortons, McDonald's, public places like that,” says Gervais. “I've known people who have met inside a mall, near a kiosk. Places like that are all under surveillance."

Gervais says to make sure you talk on the phone first before meeting them and make a habit of taking down a license plate before the exchange.

Kijiji has published its own list of online security tips, including never wire or transfer money to buyers or sellers and do not give out your personal banking information.

Jacques says she has learned to be selective.

“Perhaps not always jumping to putting things online, you know, selling the little things," says Jacques.