The Chattanooga Police Department is seeing an increase in robberies involving people who are buying items that were listed for sale on social media marketplaces.
The victims are meeting the sellers to purchase the item and getting robbed at gunpoint.
As a crime prevention measure, the CPD is reminding community members that the department has designated space in front of the Police Services Center at 3410 Amnicola Highway as a Safe Exchange Zone.
The purpose of the CPD Safe Exchange Zone is to protect Chattanooga community members while swapping, trading, buying, and selling items or during child custody exchanges. The designated location has several video cameras which record 24/7 to ensure a safe transaction.
Anyone wanting to use the space does not need to check in with the CPD, but should park in the designated Safe Exchange Zone area to complete their business.
Although there's a designated area with cameras at the CPD, we still recommend meeting to make exchanges during daylight hours, telling a friend or family member where you're going, and remember if a deal seems too good to be true, it's probably a scam.
