Thieves robbed buyers at gunpoint in Facebook Marketplace scam, Georgia cops say
Two Facebook Marketplace robberies have a Georgia community on high alert as police search for suspects.
“I thought I was going to die,” 17-year-old Xandria Taylor told WJCL after she was robbed with her mother.
Xandria and her mother were one of two groups who were accosted by thieves when they met in-person to purchase a vehicle through Facebook Marketplace, the family told the news outlet.
The two robberies occurred on March 27 and 28, according to a news release from the Chatham County Police Department.
The mother and daughter agreed to purchase a Volkswagen from a seller who claimed he was a soldier and had to sell it before he got deployed, WJCL reported.
The seller changed the meeting location multiple times during both robberies, according to police. Once the victims arrived, a group of men robbed them, police said.
“Walking up the stairs, I was laughing and me and mom were having a good time. When we turned around, my emotions just dropped,” Xandria told WJCL. “Everything went south from there.”
Xandria’s mother, Marlena Taylor, told WJCL that the hardest part was seeing a gun to her daughter’s head. The thieves made off with some cash and the Taylors’ phones, according to the outlet.
No one was hurt in the two robberies, police said.
The Taylors and police are warning other potential buyers to be cautious when buying anything off Facebook Marketplace.
“All meetings should happen in the daytime and in a public place. If the item is valuable and a significant amount of cash is to be exchanged, it is best to conduct the transaction in the parking lot of a police precinct,” the police said in a statement.
Detectives advise that buyers never meet sellers alone and to call off the purchase if they act suspicious or change the sale location.
Both robberies are under investigation, and detectives are gathering descriptions of the suspects, according to police.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Chatham County Police Department Detectives at 912-651-4717 or contact them through the department’s online tip form.
Chatham County is in eastern Georgia and is home to Savannah.
This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Thieves robbed buyers at gunpoint in Facebook Marketplace scam, Georgia cops say."
