Facebook Marketplace transaction turns into armed robbery in Philadelphia neighborhood

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police say a man was robbed last Friday after agreeing to sell an expensive watch to someone he met Facebook.

Instead, he unknowingly met up with an armed criminal.

It started as a planned Facebook Marketplace transaction outside the PNC Bank on Rising Sun Avenue in the Feltonville neighborhood of Philadelphia.

It ended with the would-be customer allegedly putting a gun on the seller's back and demanding his backpack.

Ken Coluzzi, a long-time Philadelphia police investigator, and the current Lower Makefield police chief, says this case acts as a reminder not to initially trust people you meet online.

"Most of them are genuine, some of them could be riddled with fraud," said Coluzzi. "We've had complaints here, reports of fraud. Thankfully, we've had no robberies, but you can get set up for theft, or a robbery also."

In this case, investigators believe the seller had a few watches to sell, and the buyer requested he bring a few of them. Then, at the meet-up the buyer would decide which one he wanted.

In the end, police say it was all a set-up. The gunman took a backpack filled with four Rolex watches and a stack of business checks before driving away in a black Dodge Durango.

Coluzzi says there are precautions you can take with these kinds of transactions.

First, limit the amount of personal information you relay to the buyer.

Second, bring someone with you when you go to meet that person.

But most importantly, Coluzzi said to make the meet-up in a public spot, maybe even at a police station.

"Do it in a place that has a lot of people, like a police department with cameras," he advised. "So, investigators can go back and look at something if anything should go wrong."

Some police departments have designated locations outside their buildings to do just that.

Prospect Park Police Headquarters is a perfect example. Sgt. Henry O'Neill says nothing deters would-be thieves like asking them to meet at a police building.

"If it's a legitimate transaction with a legitimate person without any fraud involved, why would you have any problem showing up at the police station to do this on camera?" he said.

Meanwhile, anyone with information about the robbery in Feltonville is asked to contact the police.