I don't know if I would go as far to say they deserve what they get. Many years ago, there was a guy I worked with who got scammed in much the same way. He was a brilliant engineer, but very socially awkward. He thought he was buying some high end speakers, but ended up with a box of rocks.
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Buying an iPad In a Parking Lot is a Bad Idea
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How can people be so stupid?
I back the people who run the scam, to remind us how retarded our world has become!
I back the people who run the scam, to remind us how retarded our world has become!
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My dad used to work around the world on contracts (engineering, that is), and still laughs to tears about how the house he used to live in when working in Nigera was burgled one night - the thieves left everything, and instead stole the Monopoly money.
I'm not inferring or implying anything racial btw, just that it happened and was hilarious. They probably had never seen Monopoly before and thought they had hit the jackpot.
No, I think they deserved exactly what they got. If they'd bought it on, say, Craigslist, but hadn't done due diligence, I might say they were just naive. But these people could not POSSIBLY have thought they were buying anything but stolen goods. Seriously, some sketchy guys pull up to out of nowhere in a fancy car and ask if you want to buy a brand-new piece of electronics in a shipping box for way less than it's worth. They just decided they didn't need it, and eBay was too hard, and Craigslist would take too long? Sure...
If anything, the only saving grace of the idiots who bought the overpriced lumber was that they didn't commit a crime by buying stolen property, which they would have if the "deal" had been legit.
But I'm willing to bet you didn't drive up to a random dude walking out of a convenience store and try to sell it to them, nor is that how you bought it. Unless it was stolen, of course.
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A very old trick. There was a case of that here in the UK about 10 years ago, someone thought they had bought a high-end guitar amp cabinet, but it was just the body with bricks inside. I'd be gutted, unless I was a fan of stoner rock...
... I'll get my coat
yeah used to be a big scam here in the Dallas area. They would usually drive around in a Ford Explorer type car with big boxes in the back. Then pull up to you at a red light saying how they will sell u these super high end speakers for mega cheap bc they were left over and they didn't need them.
i don't even like the idea of craigslist so can't imagine doing something like this lol.
I say let these people get scammed, if your dumb enough to buy consumer electronics from a random guy in a van you deserve to lose your money.
what's the difference between that and the scammer that advertises it on craigslist? lol
Although to be somewhat fair, big box stores often fall for this scam with returns (box of rocks or potatoes).
That's just the speaker scam, with more desirable bait, but with non-working products instead of low quality speakers.
To those who think you won't be fooled, the same scam has gone on for DECADES. The scammers are highly honed in their crafts (and train other scammers), don't give you any time to think, and uses psychology cues to get you to comply. Difficult to avoid unless you are 100% legit.
White van speaker scam:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speaker_scam
To those who think you won't be fooled, the same scam has gone on for DECADES. The scammers are highly honed in their crafts (and train other scammers), don't give you any time to think, and uses psychology cues to get you to comply. Difficult to avoid unless you are 100% legit.
White van speaker scam:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speaker_scam
Are you suggesting the police shouldn't have mentioned that the crooks were black? We've become so PC that once a little girl disappeared and the Amber Alert described her completely except to say that she was black. It wasn't until her photo got distributed that her ethnicity became part of who we should watch for.
This crime reminds me of a old quote from the movie, The Flim-Flam Man, "Son, you'd be amazed at the hundreds of satisfied students I've matriculated over the last 50 years!"
Some people just need a good education in how an honest transaction is conducted by both parties.
@Itsmemuffins: Off topic, but I just wanted to point out that you caused me quite a panic as I wondered how the hell a flea got under the glass of my iphone!!!
Hilarious! That story made my day.
*mental note*
pack Monopoly money on top of luggage whenever traveling abroad.