1. What these rules are
Below are recommendations that reduce the risk when an item is returned. They are recommendations, not a guarantee of safety. The operator does not verify users' identities, does not confirm title, and takes no part in meetings or handovers. The decision to hand an item over, and the circumstances of the meeting, are the user's.
2. Checking the person
A confirmed telephone number means only control of that number. It confirms neither documents, nor title, nor good faith.
Ask the claimant to name: the unpublished distinguishing feature, the contents, the circumstances, and the place and time of the loss. For a valuable item, ask for proof of ownership — a receipt, packaging, a photograph with the item, a serial number — with personal data covered.
Do not decide under pressure, haste or pity: these are standard tactics.
3. Where and when to meet
Meet in a busy place with video surveillance: a shopping centre, a bank branch, a café, a guarded car park. In daylight. Tell someone close to you where you are going and who you are meeting. Bring somebody with you if you can.
Do not invite anyone to your home and do not go to theirs. Do not meet in deserted places, stairwells, cars or closed premises.
4. Money
Returning a found item requires no prepayment. Do not transfer money for "delivery", "insurance", "processing", "customs" or a "deposit". Do not pay through links sent in a conversation.
A request for a one-time code, a password, a CVC or card details is always fraud, whoever the person claims to be.
A voluntary reward is the owner's decision, is given after the item is received, and cannot be a condition of return.