Buying things from strangers online can be risky.
That’s the message from Mounties after a 28-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint while responding to a Craigslist ad for a $600 MacBook laptop.
The New Westminster resident agreed to meet the seller publicly in the Edgemont area of North Vancouver Friday evening, only to be confronted by two men and mugged.
Mounties said the robbers took all the cash he had on him, which totaled $675, and fled the area on foot.
The victim called the RCMP and officers managed to track down one 19-year-old suspect that evening. They also recovered an imitation handgun.
Cpl. Richard De Jong said the case should serve as a warning about the dangers of dealing with strangers online.
“Because anyone can post on a social media site, you should be extra cautious when dealing with a complete stranger,” De Jong said in a statement.
“You really don’t know who you may be dealing with.”
The suspect is facing charges of robbery and possession of a controlled substance.
