Phoenix man warning others after OfferUp deal turns into attempted robbery | Arizona News

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PHOENIX (3TV / CBS 5) – After an ‘OfferUp’ deal in Central Phoenix turns into an attempted robbery, a Phoenix man warns others. The police are now investigating and giving the public tips for meetings.

Ben Powers said he thought he met an elderly woman at a mall near 10th Street and Camelback Road on Sunday night. Powers said he was trying to buy a laptop for his nephew as a Christmas present for $ 1,400 when two tall masked men tried to rob him.

“The guy tried to rip my backpack off. I was able to shift my weight back and forth and hit that guy right in the eye socket, ”Powers said.

After the fight, Powers said he yelled for help.

“For some reason they let me go, and I stood together and shouted as much as I could, ‘help someone call the police,” Powers said. The two then masked men ran away.

“If you make a deal with someone through an app and it doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t,” said Phoenix Police Sgt. Vincent Cole, who said the Phoenix Police are investigating what happened to Powers.

Now they are warning others who are trying to get a bargain this holiday season.

“I always encourage people to do this during business hours or anytime during the day, and in a public place, a public place as defined, there are people nearby,” said Sgt. Cole. “I always recommend that people go in pairs.”

At the time, Powers felt good about meeting outside a noodle shop on 10th Street and Camelback Road because of the pedestrian traffic and good lighting, but he now admits he could have done the deal during the day and deeper into the vendors the story is missing in the app.

“I’d taken up the offer so many times that I got complacent and didn’t look at the red flags because they were there,” said Powers. “Just use common sense because I didn’t.”

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