Pokemon Go has been used to lure people to a spot and rob them

Pokemon Go has been out for a few days and people have already started to find ways to use it for the wrong reasons. Early this morning police in MO received reports of armed robberies. When following up on these reports, police found four suspects with a handgun. These individuals are suspected in several other armed robberies. 

The suspects used Pokemon Go to attract their victims by attaching a Lure Module from the game to a Pokestop and waited for people to show up to try to catch Pokemon. At this point the suspects used the handgun to rob the people playing the game. 

In a press release this morning, O’Fallen Missouri Police Department stated that they have detained the suspects involved in the earlier incident and believe they are also responsible for more robberies. There have been several other reports from neighboring communities of St. Luis and St. Charles counties. The department also added this warning, “If you use this app (or other similar type apps) or have children that do, we ask you to please use caution when alerting strangers of your future location.” 

Pokemon GO Lure Modules are visible to all players, so people should be very careful — especially at night  — when going to unfamiliar places to try and use the lure. It goes without saying that whenever using your phones for any reason to make sure you are safe at all times and aware of your surroundings. This is so far a fun game to play but it should not outweigh personal safety.