Robbers in Bucks County target dirt bike owners through listings on Facebook: Police

PERKASIE BOROUGH, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Police in Bucks County are warning dirt bike owners to be on alert after several robberies were reported over the last few weeks, all tying back to social media sales.

The crimes have happened in at least five different jurisdictions, authorities say.

Some of the victims tell Action News they had posted their dirt bikes or ATVs for sale on Facebook Marketplace before the robberies happened.

Dylan Donze of Quakertown has surveillance video of an attempted break-in at his home. The video shows four suspects rummaging through a car in his driveway and breaking into the garage.

"They came in. They knew exactly where my bike was," said Donze, who says he had listed the bike for sale on Facebook.

He says he woke up Sunday morning to his garage door busted and shattered glass in his yard.

"Luckily, I was one step ahead of them and had the lock on the door. Without the padlock, we would've had no bikes," he said.

He checked his cameras and saw the armed suspects in action. He says they couldn't get his door open wide enough to steal his bikes, but some of his friends weren't as lucky.

"It just makes you feel unsafe about anything," said Zane Snyder from Sellersville, who also listed a dirt bike for sale on Facebook last week.

Within 24 hours, he says his garage was broken into and three bikes worth roughly $18,000 were gone.

"When I got to my garage, my heart just dropped, and I couldn't believe it actually happened to me," he said.

He reported the crime to the Perkasie police.

"Whenever somebody is posting something like this on Facebook Marketplace, unfortunately, they're targets of this type of criminal activity," said Chief Robert Schurr with the Perkasie Borough Police Department.

Police say detectives are investigating the crime and working with other departments that have seen similar crimes.

"If you're putting your name on there and a generalized location, it's very easy for people to be able to find you," said Schurr.

Victims, some of whom are out thousands of dollars, say they won't be using Facebook Marketplace anymore.

"Yeah, I didn't know how to feel and I still don't feel like I can be safe with my stuff," said Donze.

Police say if you do plan on selling or buying goods on social media, install cameras on your property, bring a friend with you to the transaction, and plan to meet in public.