Protect Buyers & Sellers - Stop Stolen Goods at the Source
SafeOrStolen protects BOTH buyers AND sellers. Every search makes stolen items harder to sell - reducing crime globally.
Why You Must Check Items Before Buying Secondhand
Buying stolen goods isn't just risky - it's illegal and costly. Here's what's at stake when you skip verification.
Legal Consequences
In most jurisdictions, knowingly or unknowingly purchasing stolen property is a criminal offense. Police can confiscate your purchase without compensating you, and you may face criminal charges including receiving stolen property (a misdemeanor or felony depending on value).
Real case: A Florida man spent $2,500 on an iPhone from Facebook Marketplace. Two months later, police seized it as stolen property. He lost both the phone and his money, plus faced criminal investigation.
Financial Loss
Americans lose $15 billion annually to secondhand marketplace fraud and stolen goods. When you buy a stolen item, you lose 100% of your money - no refunds, no recourse. Sellers of stolen goods disappear immediately after sale, and marketplaces rarely offer buyer protection for in-person transactions.
Average loss: $850 per victim for electronics, $3,200 for vehicles, according to FBI statistics.
How Criminals Exploit Online Marketplaces
Thieves target Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, OfferUp, and eBay because they can quickly offload stolen goods to unsuspecting buyers. 60% of stolen electronics are resold within 24 hours of theft. Professional theft rings steal hundreds of phones, laptops, and power tools daily, then list them at "too good to be true" prices.
Common tactic: Thieves use fake profiles, burner phones, and public meetup spots to avoid detection. They're gone before you realize the item is stolen.
Real Case Studies
Case 1: Texas woman bought MacBook Pro for $600 on OfferUp. Original owner tracked it via Find My Mac and called police. Buyer arrested, charged with receiving stolen property, lost $600 + legal fees.
Case 2: Construction company purchased $12,000 in "used" DeWalt power tools from Craigslist seller. All tools were stolen from job sites. Company lost tools, money, and faced insurance complications.
Case 3: College student bought iPhone for $400 on Facebook Marketplace. Phone worked fine for 2 weeks, then carrier blacklisted the IMEI as stolen. Phone became unusable brick - total loss.
Verification Takes 3 Seconds. The Alternative Can Ruin Your Life.
Every day, thousands of innocent buyers lose money and face legal trouble because they didn't verify items before purchase. Don't become a statistic. Use SafeOrStolen's free verification before every secondhand purchase.
Our Mission: Stop Stolen Goods at the Source
We protect BOTH buyers AND sellers from stolen goods. By giving honest people a simple way to verify items, we make it dramatically harder for thieves to fence stolen goods. Every search makes stolen items harder to sell.
Most stolen-item tools cover one category. SafeOrStolen covers phones, vehicles, license plates, electronics, power tools, firearms, and bicycles in one place.
SafeOrStolen participated in the Entrepreneurship World Cup 2020.
FasterCapital is SafeOrStolen's accelerator/incubator. SafeOrStolen joined the FasterCapital Acceleration Program in 2025.
Six item categories · 100+ databases · Results in about 3 seconds
Bank-Level Security
256-bit SSL encryption
6 Item Categories
Phones, vehicles, plates, serials, firearms, bikes
Zero Data Retention
GDPR compliant
Press & Media
Featured in leading business platforms and trusted by verified reviewers
Our Data Partners
We crawl, scrape, and aggregate data from 50+ trusted sources including community theft registries, stolen property registries, and industry partners
Stolen property reports from all 50 states
FBI's stolen property database - we crawl and cross-reference federal theft records
vehicle theft and title databases
VINCheck and theft records - we aggregate insurance crime data for vehicle verification
Nationwide Stolen Firearms Database
Stolen firearms registry - we aggregate their database for firearms verification
IMEI.info
Global IMEI database - we cross-reference phone blacklist and carrier records
stolen bicycle databases
1.4M bikes cataloged - direct API integration for bicycle verification
StolenRegister.com
Global stolen property reports - we scrape and aggregate their listings
Stolen911
Police detective-founded service - data sharing partnership
vehicle theft and title databases Vehicle Database
Official vehicle identification records - VIN verification source
Carrier Blacklist Databases
AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile - IMEI blacklist verification
Insurance Claims Networks
Aggregated insurance theft claims for comprehensive coverage
How it works: We run parallel crawls across all partner databases, aggregate results in real-time, and provide unified verification in under 3 seconds.
Why SafeOrStolen is Better Than CheckMEND, IMEI.info, Swappa
Most stolen-item tools cover one category. SafeOrStolen covers phones, vehicles, license plates, electronics, power tools, firearms, and bicycles in one place. Better than CheckMEND in every way - faster, cheaper, and mobile-first with instant stolen verification.
Protects BOTH Buyers & Sellers
Buyers avoid unknowingly purchasing stolen goods and the financial/legal nightmare. Sellers can prove items are clean, build trust, and avoid false associations with stolen property.
Global Crime Deterrent
Every verification makes it harder for criminals to resell stolen goods. We're building a safer secondhand ecosystem and shrinking the market for stolen items globally.
Verify From Your Phone
SafeOrStolen installs from your mobile browser at SafeOrStolen.com, with barcode scanning built in.
Instant Verification - 3 Seconds
CheckMEND takes 30+ seconds. We deliver instant stolen verification in 3 seconds with barcode scanning. No manual typing. Perfect for meetups - scan and verify instantly.
Legal Protection Certificates
Download official certificates proving you verified items before purchase. Legal protection if item is later discovered stolen. Competitors don't offer this.
Best Value — From $0.99
CheckMEND charges $3.99 per check. SafeOrStolen offers $0.99/check or $10/month unlimited. Better than CheckMEND — a real mobile app, not a slow website.
Privacy-First: No Data Logging
We don't log, track, or store your searches. Completely anonymous verification. Competitors track and sell your data to advertisers.
Works Offline
Mobile app caches results and works without internet. Perfect for rural meetups or areas with poor signal. Verify items anywhere, anytime.
Stop Stolen Goods at the Source
Every search makes stolen items harder to sell. Protect yourself on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Craigslist, OfferUp, pawn shops, and auctions. Download the app from SafeOrStolen.com to check items anywhere.
Press & Recognition
Featured in published press releases
Press Release
"SafeOrStolen launches comprehensive verification platform to protect marketplace buyers and sellers from stolen goods fraud."
Press Release
"New stolen item verification service aims to reduce marketplace fraud and protect consumers from unknowingly purchasing stolen property."
Who We Serve
Real protection for real people
Protects Buyers
Verify items before purchase to avoid stolen goods and legal trouble
Helps Sellers
Prove your items are legitimate to build trust and close deals faster
Serves Businesses
Pawn shops, dealers, and resellers use SafeOrStolen for due diligence