A 41-year-old Indiana man tried to set up a hookup via Facebook with a 16-year-old girl, but had his phone, credit cards and wallet stolen by the girl and her friends instead.  Not that crime is a good thing, but sometimes justice has a funny way of working itself out.

The man told police last Thursday that he arranged a meeting with a girl and picked her up at an apartment complex before driving into downtown Indianapolis, where a party was supposedly being held that the two would attend. They pulled up to an abandon home in the man’s Lexus, and the girl hopped out and said she would be right back. However, the man was attacked moments later by two young men brandishing guns. He was held against his will in the abandoned home by three other teenagers while others took his car and went on a spending spree using his credit cards. They gave him his car back later that evening and released the man, whereupon he went home and told his wife that he had been robbed.

It’s important for young people to be careful who they’re talking to online, and never to arrange a meeting with a stranger. However, in a strange turn of events, the adult in this scenario could have used the warning.

Recommended Resources

BitDefender Safego is a Facebook application you can install that will scan your News Feed and help keep you safe from scams on Facebook.

SocialSafe helps you to create your library of you. It’s the safest place for your online life. Downloaded to your computer, auto organised and instantly searchable. Supports most major social networks.

PRIVATE WiFi® is a Personal VPN that encrypts everything you send and receive. Don’t access Facebook from a public WiFi hotspot without it.