Two suspects behind app rip-offs identified

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - Volusia County Deputies say brothers Maurice and Marquez Swint were the two suspects behind a string of robberies across Deltona, Debary, and DeLand. Cops say they would use apps like OfferUp and LetGo to buy things like scooters, video games, and cell phones.

They would meet-up with the seller to pick up the goods, but then pay for them with fake money. When one of the victims realized he'd been duped, deputies say the brothers took off, warning "I will shoot you in the parking lot."

Law enforcement says this could be part of a criminal trend across central Florida. Daytona Beach Police say this week a man was also robbed at gunpoint by a man he had met through OfferUp. Further south in Palm Bay, cops there released photos of movie-prop cash that thieves exchanged for items they arranged to buy using LetGo. Deputies warn you never really know how it’s going to work out when you buy from or sell to a stranger, but there are ways to make it safer. 

Deputies say when you buy or sell something to a person you meet online, it is always a good idea to make the physical exchange at a secured, monitored place, like they have at the DeLand and Orlando Police Departments. If you can't find someplace like that, at least make sure the meeting place is busy, well-lit, public and has video surveillance.