Armed robbers have been luring victims to isolated spots in Missouri using the game Pokémon Go, according to police.
The Guardian reveals that officers in O'Fallon, Missouri responded to a robbery report today, which led them to four teenagers in a car who tried to throw away a handgun when officers approached.
The four were soon identified as suspects of similar crimes in other counties.
Sgt Bill Stringer said that police believe the suspects had used Pokémon Go to tempt players into secluded areas where they could be easily robbed.
The game, which centres around players capturing animated Pokémon that have been superimposed onto the real world via an app, includes a feature in which players gather at local landmarks to battle each another.
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"Using the geolocation feature," Stringer said, "the robbers were able to anticipate the location and level of seclusion of unwitting victims."
Another police spokesperson added: "You can add a beacon to a Pokéstop to lure more players.
"Apparently they were using the app to locate [people] standing around in the middle of a parking lot or whatever other location they were in."
The department later issued a warning to be careful when using the location setting on the app, saying: "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."
This is not the first incident which has been linked to Pokémon Go, as earlier this week a teenage girl discovered a dead body in a river while searching for virtual creatures.
Reporter & Sub-Editor, Digital Spy Susannah is a freelance writer and sub-editor, specialising in the entertainment industry. She graduated in 2014, with a BA in English and American Literature and Creative Writing, and an MA in Creative Producing. She’s been writing for Digital Spy ever since, after first getting involved through work experience, and has written hundreds of stories for the site on a range of topics, from The Sims to Doctor Who. Susannah has also written for Reveal Magazine. Her special interests are soaps (her Mastermind subject would be 2000s Coronation Street), Marvel and Star Wars. She can also quote far too many lines from Friends and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
