Armed robbers have been attacking car buyers across Greater Manchester, including in Oldham, after luring them to various locations with fake online adverts.
Greater Manchester Police are linking 10 robberies where victims arrived to buy a car with cash but were instead threatened to hand over their money with a gun, machete or hammer.
One woman had a gun put to her head.
The robbers found their victims using fake eBay adverts.
The robberies took place between Tuesday 19 November 2019 and Wednesday 22 January 2020.
Police are urging the public to be vigilant.
Detective Sergeant Kat McKeown, of GMP’s City of Manchester division, said: “These offenders are targeting innocent members of the public via the internet and have no compassion at all for their victims who they have subjected to a number of terrifying ordeals.
“They are devious and ruthless and need to be caught. For this reason, we have a dedicated team of detectives working around the clock to identify those responsible. Though, I would like to take this opportunity to remind people to say alert and vigilant and report anything suspicious to police immediately.”
No arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing.
Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 4409, quoting incident number 1926 of 21/01/2020. Reports can be made anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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