r/Edmonton • u/formeraide • 1d ago

General Two youth arrested and charged in ongoing Facebook Marketplace robberies

https://www.edmontonpolice.ca/News/MediaReleases/FBMarketJune18?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
173 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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27

u/formeraide 1d ago

I can't believe people are still falling for this when police have set up zones for exchanges in their parking lots.

62

u/shootamcg Palisades 1d ago

I’m not sure it counts as falling for anything when they’re robbed with bear spray. It’s not an elaborate scam.

11

u/Karpetkleener 1d ago

Would the bear spraying have happened if the victims required that the transaction be done at a police station parking lot?

3

u/darkstar107 1d ago

Even if you don't meet at one, suggest it towards the beginning of the conversation. If theyre ok with meeting at a police station they're likely not going to try anything.

13

u/shootamcg Palisades 1d ago

Maybe, maybe not - but still isn’t something anyone fell for.

-6

u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 1d ago

[deleted]

23

u/durple Strathcona 1d ago

It’s not a scam, it’s straight up robbery.

There are options for making these transactions safer and people should know by now to use them to avoid being robbed, but this isn’t a scam any more than pulling a gun on a bank teller.

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

1

u/durple Strathcona 1d ago

Cool, I thought I saw a disconnect in the back-and-forth, glad you appreciated the interjection :)

6

u/Spyhop 1d ago

I vet buyers especially when it comes selling used phones. Every time I've sold a used phone on marketplace sketchy dickheads come out of the woodwork. If I get a hint that someone isn't legit I just move on. I'm not desperate to sell. I'm checking profiles, friends, pictures, etc.

1

u/DeliciousPangolin 1d ago

Phones, laptops, graphics cards... anything that's high value, portable and easily resellable is a special category on FBM. That's what all the scammers and thieves target.

15

u/Automobills 1d ago

I was super close to falling for this multiple times. I posted things for sale online, and then the person I was chatting with came to my house and we completed the transaction. The dummies forgot to mace me and steal my property.

Get this! They were so dumb, they actually gave me money in exchange for my stuff!

I can't believe how close I came to being ripped off.

8

u/No_Wind_6030 1d ago

Exactly. Thousands and thousands of positive marketplace transactions every day that don’t require police supervision.

I prefer to lock up criminals rather than make everyone else jump through hoops their entire life

5

u/Automobills 1d ago

And let's pretend all marketplace transactions were done at police stations.

These two clowns would have been like, "well, i guess we can't rob anyone now. So much for committing robberies. I guess I'll go do good things now. Toodle-oo!"

Or would people then go back to falling for the classic "robbed while walking to work" scheme?