Greg's Corner

Tagged: stolen goods Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

• 

  Geebo 9:00 am on December 31, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Facebook Marketplace ( 63 ), retail ( 49 ), retail theft ring, shoplifting ( 2 ), stolen goods, theft ( 6 )   

  Where do shoplifting rings sell their stolen goods? 

  

  By Greg Collier

  You may have seen some stores in the news lately about shoplifting rings. In these recent stories, a large number of people enter a store all at once and grab as much stuff as they can. The reasoning behind this kind of theft is that the store security can’t possibly stop everyone. While these incidents have been largely successful for the thieves, this is not how retail theft rings normally operate.

  In most cases, there is a ringleader who will employ a team of shoplifters. Often these shoplifters are people with substance abuse issues who are paid in drugs. They’ll walk into a big box store like Walmart or Home Depot and walk out with high dollar items like it was child’s play. The ringleader will then sell the stolen merchandise at below-market value and still make a handsome profit.

  In the pre-digital world, these goods would be sold out of the back of a truck, or a back alley, or even the back of a store. The problem then was that you had to be in the know to be able to buy the stolen goods. Now, these stolen goods are sold on several digital platforms, but one platform seems to attract more stolen goods than the others. While eBay and craigslist used to be popular for selling stolen goods, they’ve both fallen out of favor. According to a report from NBC News, Facebook Marketplace is now the go-to place for stolen goods to be sold.

  The reason behind Marketplace’s popularity among retail theft rings is that Facebook is slow to respond to law enforcement requests, if they respond at all. This has caused investigations into these rings to come to a grinding halt while police wait on a response from Facebook. Since many retail theft rings travel around the country, time is often of the essence for law enforcement.

  Industry experts seem to think that Facebook isn’t responding in a timely manner because Marketplace’s oversight hasn’t kept up with its growth.

  Many think that this is a victimless crime. They think that the retailers are insured against this kind of loss, so who is it hurting? For one, the shoplifters themselves as the ringleaders are keeping them in a cycle of substance abuse. The people buying the stolen goods can also be held criminally responsible. It some jurisdictions, even if you buy stolen merchandise unknowingly, you could still face criminal charges. If prosecutors believe that if the buyer should have had reasonable suspicion that the goods were stolen, the buyer could face legal repercussions.

  Just because Marketplace is owned by a multi-billion dollar corporation, if it’s not being monitored, it’s no safer than craigslist.

   

  Leave a ReplyCancel reply
• 

  Geebo 10:00 am on January 17, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: LetGo ( 10 ), OfferUp ( 23 ), robbery ( 11 ), Safety ( 45 ), stolen goods   

  Safety still a concern among marketplace apps OfferUp and LetGo 

  

  Just because we haven’t talked about them in a while doesn’t mean that marketplace apps OfferUp and LetGo have gotten any safer. Just within the last 24 hours, there has been a spate of stories that show safety is not guaranteed when using these relatively new apps.

  On Long Island, police recently arrested two men who were arrested for allegedly using LetGo to either rob or swindle their victims. The pair is believed to have used the app at least five times to rob their victims. This particular pair would have their victims meet them in front of a certain housing development because it was reportedly an easy way for the suspects to escape.

  In Richmond, Virginia, a man was recently arrested for allegedly robbing a man of $1000 at gunpoint. The victim thought he would be buying a car from the suspect that he saw on LetGo. The suspect and the victim met at a public transportation parking lot where the suspect said that the car ‘for sale’ was on its way. Instead, the suspect is said to have robbed the man at gunpoint. Luckily, police were nearby and were able to apprehend the suspect.

  Police in Las Vegas arrested a man that they coined ‘the blue bucket bandit’. They named him that because he would stand on top of a blue bucket in order to allegedly steal home security cameras from local residences. The man was arrested after he was spotted trying to sell the stolen equipment on OfferUp. If you unknowingly buy stolen merchandise you probably won’t be charged with a crime but the items will be returned to their rightful owner. Your only course of restitution is to try to get the money back from the thief at which point there’s a better chance you’ll never see the money again.

  Lastly, our most harrowing story comes from Cleveland, Ohio where a woman went to an OfferUp meet up to buy a TV and took her 1-year-old child with her. The man purporting to sell the TV instead robbed the woman at gunpoint and threatened her child if she did not hand over the money. the victim, in this case, met the alleged perpetrator on a public street.

  What most of these stories have in common is that the victims did not take the necessary precautions when meeting someone from these apps. While these apps may have a slicker design than a site like craigslist, that doesn’t make them any safer. While LetGo and OfferUp have better safety precautions than craigslist unless you’re meeting someone at your local police station, you are playing a dangerous game. As we’ve stated many times before, the old rules of just meeting someone in a public and well-lit place with lots of people around don’t work anymore. People using these apps have been killed in broad daylight over the most trivial of items. Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention that Geebo goes one step further than most other platforms by trying to better protect our users by moderating each ad for such things as scams, stolen goods, and potential setups. We also provide a link in every ad to the SafeTrade Station program.

  We’d rather make an honest living without risking the safety of our userbase.

   
• 

  Geebo 10:31 am on January 5, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: craigslist ( 129 ), OfferUp ( 23 ), stolen goods   

  What to do when your stolen stuff shows up online 

  

  For some reason, the media loves to glorify stories about ordinary citizens who get their stolen goods back when they show up on places like craigslist or OfferUp. A majority of the time the stories are about bicycles because its something that the original owner can just ride away on once they locate it and meet the thief. Here’s an example.

  The problem is with these kind of homemade stings is that they can easily go wrong. For instance, two people in the Dallas, Texas area are dead after a man found his stolen camera on OfferUp. He confronted the seller and was able to get his camera back, however, an argument ensued which resulted in gunfire being exchanged. Tragically, both the man and the alleged thief were killed.

  Both craigslist and OfferUp are notorious for thieves trying to sell stolen goods on their platforms. If something of yours is stolen in any kind of burglary it’s a great idea to look on these platforms for your items. However, under no circumstances should you approach these thieves on your own. Always notify your local law enforcement. They may not work at the speed you wish they would. They may not even be able to get your stuff back, but no gadget or bicycle or any other material good is worth putting your life in mortal danger.