Orlando police: suspects use dating apps to rob victims

ORLANDO, Fla — The Orlando Police Department arrested two suspects after reports they used dating and e-commerce apps to lure victims and rob them.

Officers said this all happened between June and mid-July along the Millenia Boulevard corridor. The suspects would contact victims through apps like Grindr, Sniffies, Snapchat, Offer-Up, Craigslist, and Letgo.

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The suspects would ask to meet up to purchase an item, or for a physical encounter. Once the victim arrived, they were threatened and robbed of phones, cash, and credit cards, according to authorities.

The suspects also contacted victims in the LGBTQ+ community, presumably believing the victims would not report the crime, detectives believe. Those cases will be classified as hate crimes.

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Some of the locations where the crimes took place include The Fountains at Millenia, The Place on Millenia, Glen on Millenia, Century Millenia, The Villages on Millenia, Aria at Millenia, Northbridge on Millenia Lake, and Ridge Club.

Orlando Police detectives believe there are more victims and are asking them to call Crimeline, 1-800-423-TIPS (8477), or report it online at https://crimeline.org/.

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