BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Birmingham Police Department detectives within the Robbery Division have received a sudden spike in reports involving social media websites.
Several robberies have been reported over the last two months involving social media, detectives say.
During most of the cases, the victims are under the impression that they are meeting another person to “hang out.” However, once they arrive at the meetup, they are robbed at gunpoint by an unidentified person who forces the victims to send them money through CashApp or PayPal.
Birmingham police say in some cases, the victims’ vehicles have also been stolen. The victims have stated that the person who robbed them look nothing like the person pictured online who they thought they were meeting with.
Many of these robberies occurred at vacant or abandoned homes. Birmingham PD wants to encourage the community to pick safe, public areas if they plan to physically meet someone who they have only previously met online. Most of the victims have been embarrassed to tell detectives the truth about what happened to them.
If you have any information that can help detectives or if you are a victim yourself, please call the Robbery Division at 205-254-1753 or you can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 205-254-7777.
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