We met to buy a camera and ended up surrounded

Marketplace robbery · Facebook · United Kingdom

This happened in Birmingham after I answered a post on a resale app for a second-hand camera. The seller seemed knowledgeable, sent detailed photos and even talked about shutter count, lenses and accessories in a way that sounded genuine. We agreed to meet in what I thought was a public enough place.

At the last second he asked me to walk a little further because he said he was parked nearby and did not want to carry the equipment around. That was the mistake. The moment I got close, two other people appeared and boxed me in. One took the cash envelope out of my hand before I even saw the camera.

They were gone almost immediately. What hit me later was how unremarkable the messages had been. No obvious threat, no wild pricing, just enough realism to get me to show up.