With the rise of social media, selling stolen goods online has become even easier, with buy/sell/swap pages on Facebook becoming the new black market for thieves looking to offload their ill-gotten merchandise.

However, a new local business is hoping to combat this trend with an online tool that allows users to immediately find out whether an item is stolen or not.

SeriSafe and its website provides a database of household items, with owners able to update their own personal inventory and report items stolen instantly.

SeriSafe director Keith Stoneham has been working on the business for two years, and says the website has only gone live in the last few weeks.

'At the moment we're looking at bringing big commercial operators on board. So far I've had interest from the Ministry of Education, New Zealand Police, the Insurance Council of New Zealand, and the New Zealand Retailers Association.”

Similar to the New Zealand Police's SNAP website, SeriSafe allows users to create a personal list of serial numbers from the items they own, and to report when they're stolen.

However, Keith says the major difference is the ability for anyone to search the status of any item, provided they have the serial number.

'We can do a live serial number search on any product. Before you buy an item you can check it against the database to see if it's been marked as stolen or blacklisted.”

He says this difference means buyers can avoid receiving stolen goods before any money has changed hands.

'It can act as an inventory list as well, so if you are burgled you can print the list off and check the items that are missing, and send it directly to your insurer.”

With the website in its infancy, Keith says all that's needed now is serial numbers to fill the database.

Memberships are from as little as $1 per month, or $10 per month for businesses, with schools able to receive an initial 12 months free.

'Our aim to create a well-known New Zealand brand which is not only highly trusted but also for the good of all Kiwis,” he says.