According to the O’Fallon Missouri Police Department, a group of armed robbers recently utilized Pokemon GO to lure in hapless gamers and take their personal belongings. The statement about the situation was released on the department’s official Facebook page, where details were laid out regarding how the suspects managed to utilize the app in such a way.
According to Gizmodo, nine victims in total were caught up in the Pokemon GO-related string of robberies. Fortunately, those responsible have been located and put into custody. What’s so nerve wracking about the entire ordeal though, is the fact that someone can warp the intention of the app manufacturer to such extremes. It’s not even something that took criminals that long to dream up either, so people setting off to catch ’em all in the latest Pokemon game need to keep this incident in mind and be very cautious while out and about in the real world.
Many of you have heard of Pokemon Go, but for those that have not, it is a type of Geo Caching game where you find and capture Pokemon characters at various locations. If you use this app (or other similar type apps) or have children that do we ask you to please use caution when alerting strangers of your future location.
Many of you have asked how the app was used to rob victims, the way we believe it was used is you can add a beacon to a pokestop to lure more players. Apparently they were using the app to locate ppl standing around in the middle of a parking lot or whatever other location they were in."
Outside of this, another user recently found a dead body while playing Pokemon GO, which just goes to show that anything can happen during walks around one’s town or city. As always, it’s important to be aware of one’s surroundings, so those that have access to the game should keep this in mind as a cautionary tale.
Source: O’Fallon Missouri Police Department & Gizmodo
