The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department has implemented safety measures to help protect sellers and buyers who use platforms like Facebook Marketplace to sell goods.

Journalist Samantha Silverman attempted to sell an item online and got some bites from a woman who was interested. Silverman says everything seemed OK at first, but things started to go wrong. In the end, Silverman was scammed out of $300 and is now warning others to be careful

Stories like Silvermans are why the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department created "safe transaction zones' in Yaphank and Riverhead.

Police officials say you should never go to someone's house when selling or buying items through Facebook Marketplace or any other similar online site for buying and selling goods.

Lance Ulanoff, the U.S. editor-in-chief of Tech Radar, says people should also look at the reviews and the connections of those selling items and anyone who is interested in buying.

Facebook has a list of things that you can do to buy and sell responsibly on Facebook Marketplace. The platform warns people to watch out for anyone asking a lot of personal questions. Another way to protect yourself is to never transfer money directly into a seller's bank account. Instead use a secure person-to-person payment site like PayPal.