Tampa police are searching for three men after a woman was robbed at gunpoint while trying to buy a cell phone through the OfferUp app.
Rhiannon Dudney found what she thought was a great deal posted on the third-party transaction app.
The seller messaged Dudney to meet near the intersection of North Tampania and La Salle Street Sunday. It happened to be just a couple blocks away from her house, so she felt safe going alone.
"They're good programs that bad people take advantage of," said Dudney.
Once there, a man approached her car with a cell phone in hand, while two other men watched close by.
"He went to hand it to me and I went to hand him the money and he just grabbed the money and kind of ducked aside," said Dudney.
That's when Dudney says another man pulled out a pistol and only saw one way out.
"I was like 'floor it and go,' I just ducked down and floored it."
Dudney's terrifying encounter happening just two days before robbers shot and killed a Pasco County man during a Craigslist robbery. Tampa police say James Beck fell into a deadly trap trying to sell his son's dirt bike.
After these latest incidents, police are urging people to use safe, designated locations to handle online sales.
TPD Headquarters, One Police Center: 411 N. Franklin Street, Tampa
District 1: 3818 Tampa Bay Blvd., Tampa
District 3: 3808 North 22nd Street, Tampa
