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Advise on possible stolen iPhone?

dannster

dannster

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 10, 2008
133
0
London, UK
Hi guys!

I'm panicking a little bit here about a 32GB iPhone 4 I sold over Gumtree. I sold it to a lady in the North West (UK), but she would only pay me via bank transfer once she'd received a tracking number.

I didn't feel totally safe with this so I used Parcelforce who collected it, so if I got suspicious I could have it returned before it was delivered. She sent the payment once she got the tracking number but there were complications - the bank sent it their normal 3 working day cycle rather than the 15 minutes or so one which has been introduced recently. She kept apologising but I was getting a little bit worried.

She said the money would clear in to my account by today (Monday), when it was sent on Thursday last week. I've checked my bank account and it hasn't gone in and it's not going in tomorrow either!

Could this just be a delay with the payment? She said it's come from her Lloyds TSB bank to my HSBC bank.

Or could it be something I should be worried about? I have text and called her but got no response but when I was arranging to send the phone I got responses pretty quickly.

I have the iPhone's IMEI and serial number, not sure if those are any good incase it turns out I've been scammed? The phone's on the Vodafone network and I got it with the contract (I already have an iPhone). Will Vodafone ask me to pay for this handset now?

What would you guys do?
 
dannster said:
Could this just be a delay with the payment? She said it's come from her Lloyds TSB bank to my HSBC bank.
Click to expand...

Well. yes it could always be a simple complication, but you knew the risk when you sent it.

dannster said:
Or could it be something I should be worried about? I have text and called her but got no response but when I was arranging to send the phone I got responses pretty quickly.
Click to expand...

I'll say yes, be worry, even if it is a simple complication you should be in top of it.

dannster said:
I have the iPhone's IMEI and serial number, not sure if those are any good incase it turns out I've been scammed? The phone's on the Vodafone network and I got it with the contract (I already have an iPhone). Will Vodafone ask me to pay for this handset now?
Click to expand...

Serial number and IMEI are useful on these cases, you need to report it to the police and then use the police report to take it to the carrier, I am not familiar with Vodafone policies (each carrier have a totally different way to deal with this), but in the states with AT&T, they have a Blacklick of stolen IMEI and serial number so the phone cannot be activated on their network (that said, there is nothing stopping the thief to unlock [which it may already be] it and use it on another carrier/country).
 
Oh balls! So even if you have the IMEI and the network blocks the phone they can still use it on another network?? That sounds crazy to me.

I can't believe I've fallen for this scam :( She seemed so genuine. Perhaps the police can do something to recover the phone.
 
Sorry man, It does suck.

dannster said:
She seemed so genuine.
Click to expand...

Most scammer do...:eek:

dannster said:
Oh balls! So even if you have the IMEI and the network blocks the phone they can still use it on another network?? That sounds crazy to me.
Click to expand...

You can report it to all GSM carriers on your country but most carrier won't care unless you are a customer and even them nothing can be done for carrier on others countries. They can just sell it on ebay to another country and done.

Don't lose hope, maybe it is just a simple delay on payment (that also happen all the time).
 
spaceboots06 said:
This part concerns me.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it did a little for me but also because I was asking to be paid via bank transfer I could understand why she needed some assurance that I was genuinely selling the phone.

The emails we exchanged aren't usually what you'd expect from someone scamming you. I work online and have sold many items online through eBay, Gumtree etc and this was nothing like the usual scam emails you get.

Even though her phone's now off and she's not replied to my emails I'm still thinking she could be genuine still. I have the proof of delivery, the signiture and name and her name, address and phone number.

What will Vodafone do? Will they send me a replacement handset?

What will the police do? Surely, if you were to scam someone you wouldn't have it sent to your house?! She's surely going to get caught once I report her!
 
Did you advertise it only on your local gumtree? Classic scammer MO is to scour ads from all over and ask for delivery elsewhere. Gumtree to me is for local classifieds where you can deal face to face.

You got a landline number for the buyer? You checked out the address on google streetview? Is it residential?

And as already mentioned the bank transfer after you've sent it would have got my alarm bells ringing.

I hope it's a genuine sale for your sake but it seems dodgy to me.
 
Yeah, the name and address I have is:

Karen Crimmett
12 Burwaye Close
Lichfield
Staffordshire
WS13 6NZ

Looks like residential buildings to me, so surely some way to source the thief?

I'm in Staffordshire at the weekend for V Festival so I wouldn't mind popping round!
 
dannster said:
Yeah, the name and address I have is:

Karen Crimmett
12 Burwaye Close
Lichfield
Staffordshire
WS13 6NZ

Looks like residential buildings to me, so surely some way to source the thief?

I'm in Staffordshire at the weekend for V Festival so I wouldn't mind popping round!
Click to expand...

Sorry mate but it doesn;t look good, she have been flag as Scammer on Gumtree, I would start calling the carrier and the Police.

http://forums.gumtree.com/viewtopic.php?t=391363&p=3779696
 
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?clien...code_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQ8gEwAA

Just go to streetview

And it never fails to amaze me how people still get caught out by these scams, anything like this you should be getting the money first - what idiot (sorry op) would send a £600 phone to a stranger on the agreement the money could be sent once a tracking receipt has been sent which by then is to late for you to get the phone back

Longshot but you could try calling parcelforce and hope they take pity on you
 
Oh crap :( :( :(

The email I have is Karen.Crimmett@gmx.co.uk

This really sucks. I'll contact Vodafone now. Do I say it was stolen?! Or will it not be classed as theft by the network if I actually gave it away?! Will the network send me a new phone? I got a business contract with them last week that came with the phone.

It seems a daft idea to me to have the phone sent to your home?! Surely the police will find her!
 
dannster said:
Oh crap :( :( :(

The email I have is Karen.Crimmett@gmx.co.uk

This really sucks. I'll contact Vodafone now. Do I say it was stolen?! Or will it not be classed as theft by the network if I actually gave it away?! Will the network send me a new phone? I got a business contract with them last week that came with the phone.

It seems a daft idea to me to have the phone sent to your home?! Surely the police will find her!
Click to expand...

That will depend on Vodafone policies, check them before calling. If you are insured for theft you should be find, you will need a police report first (well that's based on what AT&T asked you for claims, vodafone may be different)

Based on the address that may not be her address, they may have a contact at the local post office, and stuff like that, based on google, they been doing it for a while.
 
First off - I am very sorry to hear that you may have gotten scammed. Lick your wounds, and learn from this.

Second -When I purchase an item from a business, or from a person online, the item does not get shipped until they receive my money. Why would you do any different? I can't see any reason why you would ship an item before you received payment for it??
 
Ah, Vodafone confirmed I don't have insurance. Good one!

I've taken it out any way and will just report it tomorrow when I go to the police station. Not sure if that'll do any good.

And now to concentrate on finding this b*****d! Thanks for all your help so far guys!
 
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