The con artists are now stepping their game up: now, it can even lead to violence that some people are forced to pay sometimes multiple times the price of a PlayStation 5 just to get one of the consoles, as a few wealthy people hoarded the stocks.

This is a French story, so it’s not something that happened in the US or the UK. A few people have put up an advertisement for a PlayStation 5 on Leboncoin (or Le Bon Coin, effectively a French equivalent of eBay). Of course, the price wasn’t set as 500 euros, but instead, it was listed at 650 euros, which is a hefty 30% price hike and profit cut…

A customer requested a meeting, which then occurred in Melun’s Montaigu district. A tower was set as the place of the meeting, and the unfortunate (and uninformed, but not in a negative connotation) customer stepped into a trap. Instead of expecting to purchase a console, they got attacked by mask and balaclava-wearing people, and in a few cases, even violence was used. Handguns, knives, hammers, or even a taser was pulled out in a few instances…

The police started to investigate the situation, and they also set up a meeting. This led to catching four suspects, all teenagers (aged sixteen to eighteen), and they might not be the mastermind behind the case, but in this day and age, you may never know. Paul Guilbaud, the Commissioner of the National Police wanted to give a little reminder: „We must beware of these offers that are too good to be true. Make appointments in crowded public places, don’t go alone, and let your loved ones know where you are going.”

This is frankly getting disgusting at this point, all over a lack of stocks.

Source: JVL