PEORIA, Ill. – Peoria’s top cop is offering advice for people to stay safe when involved in an online transaction, in the wake of Peoria’s second homicide of 2024.
The shooting on Monday in the area of W. Lincoln Ave. led to the death of Marcus Whitehead, 18, of Bloomington. Police say the incident occurred during a botched robbery attempt under the guise of a vehicle transaction through Facebook Marketplace that had an in-person meeting.
Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria says people can be scammed through such transactions because people believe too much into a deal that could be too good to be true.
He says one way to protect yourself when buying something online is to be in a public place to complete the deal.
“We tell people, come use our police department, use our parking lot to conduct transactions,” Echevarria said. “We ran into a few kids one day out here, and they were selling Jordans. And the kid came all the way from Chicago. And his rule was ‘I only do these at police departments.’”
Echevarria says it’s a warning sign if a person does not want to conduct the transaction in a public place. He also suggests people know the area the sale is taking place in, and to let people know ahead of time where you’ll be.
Doing research into the person you’re buying something from online is another way to be safe.
“I do look to say, ‘Oh okay, there’s been this,’ and there’s areas for comments from other buyers as well on it. So I would look at all that,” Echevarria said.
He says someone should also take into consideration how money will be transferred as a potential warning sign.
Echevarria says despite all the tips that are given, people still fall victim and can be too ashamed to report the crime.
“I did talk to a gentleman not too long ago, who said that something happened to him,” Echevarria said. “I happened to walk into a restaurant, I was in uniform, he mentioned something. I said ‘Did you call the police?’ He goes no, I said ‘when did this happen?’ Happened at 8:00 in the morning. It was like 6:00 in the evening when he’s telling me, he never called the police. He says ‘I was embarrassed, I didn’t know what to do.’”
Echevarria is encouraging people to be aware and reminds people that scammers will find new methods to take advantage of people.
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