Police warn against app-arranged transactions

The Lorain Police Department has seen an increase in robberies associated with apps that arrange meetings online, only for people to get robbed when they meet in person.

“We have had a string of robberies that involve apps like Letgo and Facebook (Marketplace),” said Lorain police Lt. Ed Super. “The apps allow items, that people want to sell, to get displayed online so a local buyer can meet to conduct the transaction in person.

“The problem is robberies are occurring as a result of these meetings.”

Super said the Lorain Police Department is issuing a warning to residents who agree to meet people for these transactions.

“We want to get the word out that these are being a frequent problem we are seeing in Lorain,” he said. “We have been getting one to two of these a week.

“We’ve had people meet for a cellphone purchase, only to have the cellphone taken along with additional money and purses. This was done by two to three juveniles whom we caught after they pulled that a couple of times, but they aren’t the only ones doing this.”

Super said if you’re going to use these apps, make sure to be smart about it.

“Choose a good place to meet,” he said. “Make sure it’s a safe place where people aren’t going to get away with stealing the items and take off.

“A police station, a Walmart parking lot, or any place where you know there are cameras and other people.

“We had some people suggest meeting spots in alleys and abandoned homes; be smart about it. If someone offers you more money for your item than you originally paid, that should be a sign to people that something is wrong.”