Students robbed while playing Pokemon Go

London: Three students have been robbed at knife-point
of their mobile phones while playing Pokemon Go.

The report was published in the
Telegraph which stated that the students were targeted in Hulme, Manchester, on
Friday.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) warned
of the dangers of using the phone app and said it was concerned that the app
could provide another online avenue for criminals to exploit.

The augmented reality game was
launched in Britain on Thursday and has exploded in popularity since then.

It uses the GPS capabilities of device
in conjunction with Google Maps to place creatures in real world locations,
which player then tries to find using his device as a guide.

Once in proximity to the placed
creature, player needs to use device’s camera to view the creature and try to
capture it.

The Pokemon Go is available on Google
Playstore and Apple’s App Store in US, Japan and Australia, the Philippines,
New Zealand, Britain and Germany. It is coming soon to India, Singapore, Taiwan
and Indonesia.

“We know that criminals move
quickly to exploit the latest developments to target victims and Pokemon Go
will already be in their sights. I would urge parents to speak to their
children about the app and the best ways to make sure they stay safe. Talking
to your child is one of the best ways to keep them safe,” quoted GMP
Detective Superintendent Joanne Rawlinson said.

Meanwhile, Sussex police has appealed
to Pokemon Go players who may have witnessed a break-in at a Tesco garage in
the early hours of Saturday to come forward with information and help.

IANS