Man on Way to Buy Hot Merchandise Gets Ripped Off

A 26-year-old man who tried to buy stolen merchandise at Kmart was ripped off of $3,000 on March 25, according to a police report.

The victim reported to police that he got a cell phone number of a person who could sell him discounted electronics from a guy he met on the street, reports said.

The guy told the victim that the unknown person worked in the stock and inventory department at Kmart at 4101 W. 95th St., and could sell the victim a flat-screen TV and laptop computer for half off the retail price.

The victim called the cell phone number and was told to go Kmart to pick up his merchandise. Police said the victim was told to put $3,000 into a folder on a shelf in the toy aisle, then go to the electronics department to retrieve the merchandise which would be waiting for him in a cart.

When the victim could not find the cart, he went back to the toy aisle and his money was gone. The victim told police that he never met the contact at the store but only talked to him on the phone.