Online banking and payment apps have protections against identity breaches and online thieves but not street robberies.
A Seattle University student says he was held up on campus on the Monday Presidents Day holiday and forced to transfer money as the two suspects threatened to shoot him and his home.
According to the SPD report on the Monday, 3 PM incident, the student said he was standing by his car on campus when the two suspects confronted him and placed him in a headlock:
The victim said the suspects implied they had guns and demanded any money or valuables he had. When the victim emptied his pockets and had no money on him the suspects made the victim take out his cell phone and send several bank transactions to another account on a phone the suspects were holding.
The victim said after he completed the transactions, the suspects let him keep his phone and told him to send more money later in the day. “The suspects also found the victimโs address on paperwork in the car and warned him that if he did not send the transaction that they would shoot up his house at 1700 hrs,” the report reads.
Police say the victim called 911 after the suspects fled the scene. Officers arrived and investigated the incident, including evidence from Seattle University security that “supported the victim’s claims.”
Police responded to the victim’s address at 5 PM “in case the suspects followed through with their threats to shoot up his house” but nobody showed. There were no reported arrests.
UPDATE 2/23/2022: In a security update to the campus community, SU said the student in the incident reportedly knew one of his alleged robbers. “Seattle Police and the Department of Public Safety were provided information that the victim knows the identity of one of the suspects,” the update reads. “The suspectโs information has been provided to the Seattle Police Department, who are continuing to investigate.”
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There is something about this story that doesn’t add up. Do the perps think that the money transfers can’t be traced?