Safety Tips

Please keep safety in mind when using BuzzOurBiz and transacting with people and businesses.  This includes considering your personal safety and that of your loved ones as well as the safety of your personal information.  When in doubt, common sense and remembering all of the warnings your mom gave you will serve you in good stead.

Please be aware that BuzzOurBiz is a site that provides a platform for users to connect, view reviews and recommendations, spread the buzz to your peers and carry out other related social networking, communicating and advertising activities. As a platform provider, we cannot and do not guarantee, represent or warrant anything with respect to the users you interact with, the quality of their service, the content users post on the site, the ability of someone to pay or the medium of exchange (i.e. cheque, cash, wire transfer, etc.) or your safety.  We ask that you please take all reasonable precautions to safeguard your personal safety and those of your loved ones, as well as of your personal information and online identity.  Just like in the “offline” world, there are many scammers and other nasty people about “online” and we want you to stay safe and enjoy your usage of BuzzOurBiz.

Here are a few things we recommend:

1. Where possible, arrange to meet with a service provider or service seeker in person and in a public place or, at minimum, that you have a friend, family member or other trusted colleague with you, especially if you are meeting at your home.  
2. Ask for and check references of a service provider where appropriate, especially for a large or complex amount of work.   Ratings and recommendations on BuzzOurBiz are a great way to find out about the quality of service and work product, but it is helpful to also check with references directly.   Good service providers should always be able to provide you with a list of real references and will not mind if you contact them. 
3. Deal in cash or certified cheques.  This helps to avoids unpleasant situations, such as where you are “paid” by cheque for your hard work and that cheque bounces.
4. Limit the amount of personal information that you post on public areas of BuzzOurBiz and, if you must provide personal information to a service provider or service seeker, that you provide as little personal information as possible.
5. Follow safe internet practices.  This includes choosing strong passwords (a mixture of capital and lower case, with numbers and symbols, not forming recognizable words, etc.), being careful of the information you post (ask yourself – “Would I post this on my front door or in the newspaper?”), thinking carefully before installing third party applications which might give these applications access to your information or your computer and being cautious with what you say in your status updates (i.e. saying “Gone to NYC for three months and my front door is unlocked!” is probably not a great idea).

Practice safe surfing and service-transacting and enjoy BuzzOurBiz!