On the surface, Pokemon GO is simply a fun little app that gets people out of their houses and making friends with each other. However, it turns out that it can also be used for more nefarious purposes. Just yesterday, the O’Fallon Missouri Police Department stated that unsuspecting players were getting lured to Pokestops and robbed by armed individuals. These incidents occurred in the St. Louis and St. Charles counties.
It’s a really simple trick. All a player has to do is use a Lure at an empty Pokestop, and surrounding players will be notified. They’d then be attracted to that secluded location because of the prospect of encountering new Pokemon. It’s a great way to bring people together, but it also makes them easy targets for malicious individuals who are just trying to trap them in an isolated location.
According to the police,
“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.”
At the time of writing, three of the four armed robbers have already been arrested and will be charged with armed criminal action. Be careful, Pokemon GO players.
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