PALMDALE – A man was robbed in a Palmdale parking lot Thursday night when he thought he was meeting up with someone who wanted to sell him a phone, authorities said, while warning other local buyers and sellers to beware.
The robbery and attempted carjacking occurred around 9:40 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24, at 3030 E. Palmdale Blvd., where the victim was supposed to meet with a seller he contacted on the phone app OfferUp, said Lt. Anthony Gunn of the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station.
The victim was instead attacked by three men, believed to be in their late teens or early 20s, who punched him several times before taking his car keys, phone and wallet, Gunn said.
The victim was able to get his keys back during a scuffle with the robbers and fled in his vehicle. The victim was hurt in the encounter but did not seek medical treatment, Gunn said.
In light of what was described as “an undesirable trend with online sellers and buyers,” authorities offered the following safety tips in an advisory issued Friday.
- Always meet during the day and in a well-populated public place. Never meet at your home or the individual’s home.
- Tell someone where you are meeting and what time the transaction is supposed to take place. If possible, have someone accompany you. There is safety in numbers.
- Never give your home address, business address, social security number or banking information to anyone, under any circumstances. Home burglaries and identity theft can easily take place with this type of information.
- Keep your cell phone close by during the transaction to call police at the first sign of trouble
- Do not use a personal email address, and disable caller ID when calling the buyer or seller by dialing *67 prior to the telephone number.
- Use a cashier’s check instead of cash. Make the cashier’s check a non-negotiable term of the transaction. If it’s a high-priced transaction, do it at the bank.
- Go with your gut. If the individual does not want to meet in a public area or is asking for information that does not apply to the transaction, consider this a red flag.
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Wendy GB. says
It’s unfortunate we are living in the days described in 2 Timothy 3:2,3 “For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness.” Good instruction is given in Proverbs 22:3 “The shrewd one sees the danger and conceals himself…”
Just curious says
You’re a witness aren’t you?
David says
I would advise people to do these kind transcations in front of the local police stations and during the day daytime.
You just can’t trust people and if they object to that meeting locale, then it’s an automatic red flag.
Royalwest says
The times you are living in scripture! Every body and everything is raising your kid, if your not! Even that phone in your hand.
Shane Falco says
East Palmdale…
bad bill says
ya. too much ghetto trash lives here – they teach kids its ok to rob and steal ,,, sad…
Larry says
U sound stupid if you think someone teach there own kids to rob? Where u get ur info from?
Craigslist buyer and seller says
Kids follow the example given, whether it’s parents, siblings, friends. It’s up to the parents (or more than likely in this case, the single parents raising them) to teach them right and wrong and hold them accountable.
As for the safety tips. When you’re buying a car, you unfortunately don’t have the option of not giving out your home address as it’s going to be on the title and both parties addresses are on the release of liability. No getting around that. Most SMART people won’t accept a cashiers check seeing as those can easily be forged.
Life says
Why do u assume it’s always single parents? And first of all what in the hell is wrong with a single parent ,I mean relationships don’t always work out, people die leaving one to be a single parent! I myself am one and I’ve raised my son into a man who’s in college never been arrested nor in any trouble. So please stop with single parent stuff. Some kids have both at home and still act a damn fool.
Son of the Anti Rex says
Man o man. Rex must have had some awful examples in his life. He turned out rotten to the core.
Big Lou says
Sorry Larry but Bad Bill is right. I grew up in the barrio Culver City next to the projects. I go see my mom and the low live punks I grew up with have passed their skills to the kids. The Chona Boys are robbers, drug dealers and one tried to kill a cop. All of Chona’s grandkids are the same. As they say, it’s in their blood.
Tim Scott says
As opposed to crime in Santa Clarita, where you just start charities that directly benefit yourself, right?
Ken M. says
Well charity begins at home so that’s where you start it.
Chelsea says
What’s wrong with that? That’s how my parents do charity.