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E-mail This StoryFrisco police are searching for a suspect who agreed to meet with a man selling his car on Craigslist but grabbed the keys from him and stole the car and several items in the car.
The theft happened on Friday at about 5:30 p.m. in the north parking lot of Macy’s in the 3000 block of Preston Road. The victim told police that he had received a phone call from someone who was interested in purchasing his gray 2004 Lexus IS 300, and they had agreed to meet at Macy’s.
"As the victim approached Macy’s door, an individual ran up to him and grabbed his keys out of his left hand,” police spokesman Sgt. Gerald Meadors said. “The [suspect] jumped into the victim’s car and drove off with it.”
The suspect also got away with several items left in the car, including a Fossil watch, three shirts, a Sony amplifier, subwoofers, and a brown leather wallet.
The suspect is described as a Hispanic male wearing a black shirt, blue jeans, between 5 feet 8 inches and 6 feet tall with a skinny build.
Meadors said that he has not heard of any similar thefts occurring in Frisco or elsewhere, and that the department cannot use Craigslist to track down the suspect because anyone can look at the information online.
He also said that the victim was wise to meet with the suspect in a public place, and that he could have suggested meeting at the police department for extra security.
"If you're going to meet somebody that you don’t know to do a business transaction, you might want to do it at the police department in the parking lot,” Meadors said. “It might make somebody less likely to grab your keys and run."
According to Craigslist.com, the best way to avoid scams and fraud is to “Deal locally with folks you can meet in person ¬ follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99 percent of the scam attempts on Craigslist.”
It also suggests:
*Never wire funds via Western Union, Moneygram, or any other wire service;
*Never give out financial information;
*Avoid deals involving shipping or escrow services and know that only a scammer will guarantee a transaction; and,
*Craigslist is not involved in any transaction and does not handle payments, guarantee transactions, or provide escrow services.
Craigslist officials did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment as of press time.
