Police search for man who scammed victims through Facebook Marketplace
The items the suspect took off with total over $10,000.
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Police are asking for the public’s help to identify the man who stole more than $12,000 in items from three Brooklyn neighborhoods.
Investigators said the suspect robbed three men, between the ages of 21 and 39, after meeting them through Facebook Marketplace.
It happened in October in Marine Park, Bath Beach and Bay Ridge.
Police said the thief targeted busy areas, like a shopping center across the street from the Kings Plaza Mall, inside a bank near 86th and Bay 29th streets and outside of a coffee shop on 5th Avenue near Bay Ridge Parkway.
The NYPD said the man met his victims in person, displayed a fraudulent Zelle payment and left with the victims’ items, including two cameras and Pokémon cards.
"I think it's a good way to sell stuff, but you have to be smart about it," said Brian, of Gravesend.
"I don't think [Facebook Marketplace] should be done at all,” said Hazel Williams, of Sheepshead Bay. “I think we better just get out of harm's way."
"If I'm going to sell on Facebook [Marketplace], I might as well meet with you legitimately, maybe at like a [police] precinct," said Iris Lopez, of Sheepshead Bay.
The NYPD suggests using its “E-commerce Exchange Zones,” which are located outside of every precinct, housing authority and transit district.
Each zone is marked and is under 24-hour surveillance.
Brooklyn residents said that with the holiday season around the corner, it is important to remain vigilant.
"I think that you better move within your own circle because there's enough people that you can exchange with within your own circle, than to go out and air on caution and then wind up with a zero," said Williams.
If you have any information, you’re asked to call police.
