Gatineau police warn of online marketplace theft scheme

Gatineau police are warning people of an online marketplace thief who has already scammed at least five people since the beginning of the year.

The Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau (SPVG) says the five complaints it has received are all similar, where the suspect and the victim meet on a website such as Facebook Marketplace or Kijiji for the sale of an item, generally an electronic device.

In four of the reported incidents, the suspect contacted the victim about an item the victim had put up for sale.

They both agreed on a price for the item, set up a time to complete the transaction and met at an outdoor location within the Gatineau area.

Once the seller arrived at the location, the suspect wasn't there and told the seller he was being delayed. In at least one incident, the suspect told the victim he was getting cash from an ATM.

Then, the suspect arrived at the location and handed the seller an envelope that appeared full.

While the seller checked the envelope, the suspect ran away on foot. Each envelope ended up being full of tissues or paper.

The suspect would then block the seller on the platform they were talking on.

The SPVG says that in at least one of these incidents, the victim was sprayed with cayenne pepper just before the suspect fled.

In the fifth complaint, the SPVG says the victim contacted the suspect about purchasing an iPhone 13 Pro Max he has listed for sale.

They both agreed on a price, the suspect met the victim at their house and the suspect showed the victim a phone that seemed to resemble the iPhone.

The victim paid the suspect and the suspect left the area. However, the victim turned on the phone and it wasn't an iPhone.

The SPVG says the victim's phone displayed an Android logo, had a poor quality touch screen, showed several spelling errors and many functions weren't functioning.

Currently, the SPVG says it's looking into creating safe exchange zones within the Gatineau area.