Pokémon Go: Students robbed while playing game in Manchester

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.

Pokémon Go is available on Google Play Store 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 Pokémon 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.

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Meanwhile, Sussex police has appealed to Pokémon 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.

The game has only been launched in a select few countries at the moment, but the number of Pokémon related crime stories are off the charts. Here are some other Pokémon related incidents:

In Auburn, Alabama, police had confirmed a case that a victim was assaulted and robbed after following his game to a closed building at 3 a.m. Four suspects were later arrested by the police.

Two individuals were arrested in Toledo, Ohio, after they were seen climbing a fence at the local zoo’s tiger enclosure in order to get to Pokémon.

In College Park, Maryland, university students playing Pokémon Go were robbed by an armed suspect.

Two men playing the Pokémon GO in a park in Antelope, California, were robbed and carjacked by a gunman. And in Wyoming, a 19-year-old woman who was out on her Pokémon journey stumbled onto a dead body.

The game was also to blame for a rash of car accidents in the United States. An illegally parked car whose driver had exited to catch a Pokémon was struck from behind, according to reports from Texas A&M University police, and another car struck a tree while its driver was playing the game while driving, Auburn New York police said.