JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A warning to anyone who purchases items through sites like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist; be careful and be safe when meeting up with a stranger you are buying or selling an item.
The warning followed an incident on the westside Sunday where a man was shot while trying to sell an Ipad. In that case, a man was shot in the arm during an attempted sale in a gas station parking lot. The man survived and police are looking for the shooter.
It brings up safety in online meet-up sales which remain very popular through sites like Facebook Marketplace. News4JAX spoke with people who have varying opinions on using sites like these to buy and sell.
“We just bought two kayaks on Facebook marketplace,” said Gary Weaver. “We communicated back and forth online. He seemed fine. My wife and I were together and I mean. God’s gonna’ take care of things.”
Gregory Clemmons Sr. had an opposite take. “I don’t shop on it at all because I don’t trust it,” said Clemmons. “Because too many people get hooked up and caught up. There was some time a woman was trying to buy something on Craigslist out of Middleburg and she got beat up for it.”
News4JAX spoke with retired Jacksonville Sheriff Director Tom Hackney who stressed meeting up outside police stations or substations in the area where you live.
“Everyone in the viewing area has law enforcement in their area. And they have substations in the parking lots. That’s where these transactions should be conducted,” said Hackney.
Hackney added that you should always inspect the profile of the person you’re dealing with online. If the profile is brand new that can be a red flag that something may be wrong.
“The price can kind of be the litmus test. If someone’s offering to sell you an iPhone that on the open market is a $1,000 iPhone and you want to buy it for a hundred bucks. Seems too good to be true probably is,” said Hackney.