Muggers used Pokémon Go smartphone app to lure real-world victims, police say

O'FALLON, Mo. — Pokémon Go is one of the hottest smartphone apps in the world right now and only a few days after its release, criminals have found a way to exploit the game and its users.

The virtual world of Pokémon Go mixes with the physical world as gamers walk to real locations to capture the eponymous creatures and other items in the game.

Police say muggers in Missouri allegedly lured Pokémon Go players to an area using the game’s beacon option and would find and attack them.

“Apparently they were using the app to locate (people) standing around in the middle of a parking lot or whatever location they were in,” the O’Fallon, Missouri, Police Department said on its Facebook page.

Four teens were arrested in O’Fallon after an armed robbery was reported at about 2 a.m. Sunday.

The four were suspected in other robberies in two counties, police said.

The department warned Pokémon Go players, and their parents, that any game that shows where you are can be dangerous.

“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,” the department’s Facebook post said.

Cox Media Group