How a Facebook blind date led to supermarket robbery

Sexy ladyDo you take enough care over who you make your Facebook friend?

A Belgian supermarket manager learnt a lesson the hard way, after he struck up a friendship with a woman called “Katrien Van Loo” on Facebook.

Little did he know, that when she invited him to a dinner date at her apartment, something else entirely was planned.

As you can see in the following video, the unnamed supermarket manager didn’t find a sexy Facebook admirer, but instead two men who overpowered him, and left him gagged and blindfolded.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXttffw-Vl0&w=500&h=311&rel=0] (Enjoy this video? Check out more on the SophosLabs YouTube channel and subscribe if you like.)

Before the night was out, a third man had broken into the supermarket and made off with an unspecified amount of money from the store’s safe.

More information about the crime can be found on the Belgian police website. If you recognise the men caught on the CCTV footage, or have any additional information then email the police at [email protected].

If you use Facebook and want to get an early warning about the latest threats, I strongly recommend you join the Sophos Facebook page where we have a thriving community of over 100,000 people.

Hat-tip: Trend Micro’s Rik Ferguson via The Register.


Graham Cluley is an award-winning keynote speaker who has given presentations around the world about cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. A veteran of the computer security industry since the early 1990s, he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows, makes regular media appearances, and is the co-host of the popular "Smashing Security" podcast. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, or drop him an email.

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