Viral video from Salisbury, North Carolina, highlights the risks of in-person Market transactions and why specialists urge consumers and sellers to satisfy at police stations.
A routine Fb Market change was a nightmare in Salisbury, North Carolina, when a person making an attempt to promote a PlayStation 5 was robbed at gunpoint. The incident was captured on video in 2019. Nevertheless, it not too long ago resurfaced on-line. Because of this, it has gone viral for its brazen violence and for sparking pressing conversations about security in on-line market transactions.
The video reveals the vendor standing outdoors a suburban dwelling. Thus, handing the console to 2 males who had agreed to purchase it. However as an alternative of paying, one of many males all of a sudden pulled a handgun, aimed it straight on the vendor’s chest, and compelled him at hand over the console. The opposite suspect shortly snatched the field earlier than the pair fled in a ready automobile.
The encounter escalated in seconds: the sufferer clung to the open automobile door because the robbers sped off, dragging him down the pavement earlier than he lastly let go. Thankfully, the sufferer didn’t undergo life-threatening accidents.
The footage, which first circulated in 2019 when the theft initially occurred, has resurfaced in 2025, racking up tens of millions of views on X, TikTok, and YouTube. Its virality reveals that whereas the video could also be a number of years outdated, the hazard it illustrates stays very actual right now.
A Sample of Market Crimes
This isn’t an remoted case. Salisbury police confirmed that related robberies linked to Fb Market and different resale platforms have been reported a number of instances over the previous 5 years.
A 2019 Salisbury Publish report detailed how a 20-year-old was robbed at gunpoint throughout a console sale organized by way of Fb. In 2022, one other Salisbury man was lured right into a pretend automobile sale on Market and robbed in a Walmart car parking zone. And in 2024, organized teams within the Charlotte-Salisbury hall had been tied to a string of armed robberies throughout fuel station meetups organized on-line.
The FBI’s Web Crime Criticism Middle (IC3) recorded over 1,000 marketplace-related robberies yearly between 2023 and 2024, with monetary losses exceeding $100 million. These crimes typically contain weapons, occur in daylight, and goal electronics, luxurious items, or cash-heavy transactions.
Fb Market’s comfort — free listings, instantaneous attain, and billions of customers — makes it a simple goal for scammers and criminals. Not like eBay or different platforms, Fb doesn’t require identification verification, which permits unhealthy actors to cover behind pretend profiles.
Viral Reactions: Warnings, Prejudice, and Outrage
The clip’s resurfacing triggered a flood of responses on X (previously Twitter), the place it unfold with captions like: “Should you’re promoting one thing on Market, meet on the police station. In the event that they gained’t, that is how they intend to pay you.”
Reactions fell into distinct camps:
- Security Recommendation: Many customers careworn the significance of assembly at police stations or public “secure change zones.” Replies like “All the time meet on the PD — by no means at your home” had been repeated 1000’s of instances.
- Prejudiced Feedback: Sadly, some replies fell into racial stereotypes, utilizing the video to generalize about complete communities. Whereas FBI information does present increased theft charges in economically deprived areas, specialists warning towards misusing statistics to gas prejudice.
- Sufferer Help and Blame: Some sympathized with the vendor, whereas others argued he ought to have “recognized higher” than to satisfy at dwelling. Just a few even mocked the state of affairs with memes about shedding a PS5.
- Broader Outrage: Customers referred to as on Fb (Meta) to implement stricter verification insurance policies and demanded police accountability for repeat offenders in Salisbury.
The divide in reactions underscores how viral crime movies typically inflame each sensible security discussions and dangerous stereotypes.
Why This Video Resonates
The rationale this outdated footage has exploded once more in 2025 comes down to 3 elements:
- Ongoing Danger: Market crimes are nonetheless taking place commonly. Simply this summer time, a lady in Charlotte was robbed at gunpoint throughout a automobile sale organized on-line. Viral reminders hold the general public on alert.
- Shock Issue: The video’s brevity (simply 11 seconds) and depth — a gun pulled, a sufferer dragged, all in broad daylight — make it excellent for social media sharing. It’s the type of clip that shocks viewers into reposting.
- Relatable Context: Hundreds of thousands of individuals use Fb Market, Craigslist, or OfferUp. Seeing how shortly a transaction can flip harmful faucets right into a worry many customers have already got.
Salisbury Police and Native Crime Developments
Salisbury, a metropolis of about 35,000 in Rowan County, has confronted repeated points with robberies tied to on-line transactions. Police experiences spotlight that many victims, like on this case, meet strangers at their houses or secluded areas reasonably than designated secure zones.
Crime information from the North Carolina Division of Public Security reveals that Rowan County noticed a 12% rise in robberies between 2023 and 2024, with Fb Market incidents accounting for a notable portion. Native authorities have since put in “Change Zones” at police division parking heaps, geared up with cameras to discourage criminals.
What Consultants Say: Learn how to Keep Secure
Shopper safety specialists emphasize that almost all market offers are secure, however taking precautions drastically reduces the danger. Key recommendation contains:
- Meet at Police Stations: Most regulation enforcement companies now supply monitored parking heaps particularly for on-line exchanges. If a purchaser or vendor refuses to satisfy there, it’s a serious pink flag.
- Carry a Buddy: By no means go alone to a meetup. Having one other particular person with you will increase security and deters opportunistic crimes.
- Use Public Locations: If a police station isn’t accessible, select a busy, well-lit location like a espresso store or mall car parking zone throughout daytime hours.
- Keep away from Money Offers: Use safe fee strategies like PayPal or Fb’s in-app checkout, which provide fraud safety.
- Belief Your Instincts: If one thing feels off a couple of purchaser’s profile or their communication, don’t undergo with the deal.
Based on a 2024 cybersecurity report, 90% of reported market robberies concerned meetups that occurred at personal houses or remoted places — precisely what unfolded in Salisbury.
Why It Issues
The Salisbury theft isn’t only a viral video from the previous. It’s a stark reminder of how shortly a easy on-line transaction can flip right into a life-threatening encounter. Whereas platforms like Fb Market present comfort, additionally they carry dangers when correct precautions aren’t taken.
For on a regular basis customers, the message is evident: when you’re promoting or shopping for on-line, your most secure wager is to finish the transaction below the watchful eye of regulation enforcement.
As one viral reply on X put it: “In the event that they gained’t meet at a police station, that tells you every part it’s essential to know.”
Remaining Ideas
The resurfaced Salisbury, NC theft video is a chilling instance of why on-line security can’t be taken evenly. Whereas the clip is a number of years outdated, the issue it illustrates is ongoing. With on-line market use at an all-time excessive, customers should stability comfort with warning.
Whether or not you’re promoting a PS5, a automobile, and even furnishings, the golden rule applies: meet in public, meet in daylight, and if potential, meet on the police station.
Your security is value greater than the sale.
