Police warn of uptick in Facebook Marketplace robberies
NEW YORK (PIX11) — Police are searching for two men they say are luring victims with fake ads on Facebook Marketplace and then robbing potential buyers and sellers.
NYPD Deputy Chief Jason Savino said, there has been and uptick in these robberies.
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In this pattern, the men are responsible for nine incidents in the Bronx and Queens. The first incident happened on December 29th and the most recent was reported on May 7th.
In all of the incidents the suspects met the victims after arranging to buy or sell a car. Once the victim arrived the suspects used guns, knives, metal bats and a stick with nails in it to commit the crimes.
In at least two of the incidents, the suspects got away with $10,000 dollars. Chief Savino said. “They are luring people to secluded areas because they know there are no cameras there and makes our investigation more challenging.”
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Also watch out for warning signs and red flags on Facebook, for example, profiles where the seller does not show their faces or only has one Facebook friend.
Police said Wednesday, anyone looking to buy or sell on Facebook Marketplace can always go to any of the 77 police precincts around the city and they don’t need an appointment.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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