Fraud

[HunnieBunnie]

This morning I was very excited to receive the brand new iphone 5s that I had purchased from a seller in Noblesville, Indiana. I paid $600 for the phone. I opened the envelope and was immediately worried. Inside was an iphone 4 box. At first I thought I had been sent an iphone 4, but upon opening the box, I discovered that there was no phone inside at all. The seller sent me a bar of soap!! I was so upset. I notified my credit card company, PayPal, and the Indiana police. Hopefully they will be able to nail this thief.

Has anyone ever heard of this sort of thing before? I was so shocked you could have knocked me over with a feather, as goes the old saying. This happened through U.S. mail, so hopefully the feds might get involved, too.

 

[spazma7ik]

lmfao? only people who will look into this is the site you went through and/or paypal.

was it ebay?

 

[willmtaylor]

Via what service? Unless it's guaranteed through eBay or the like, it's generally buyer beware.

 

[MacDawg]

Unfortunately it actually happens more than you might think

 

[Gooberton]

The Feds? Hahahaha hahahah.

 

[conklaven]

Why would you pay $600 for a used Iphone 5s????? even if he did send you a 5s you were getting ripped off. new iphone 6 16gb is only $650

 

[nepalisherpa]

Maybe the seller felt that you needed a good shower instead of a phone. And, yes, $50 more and you could have gotten off-the-contract iPhone 6.

 

[Shadowbech]

If bought it via E-bay, you should open a case, since you have the buyers protection. I'm sorry to hear that happen. It happened to me once, but I was the seller and the buyer never received the phone, buyer ended up getting money back and felt like I was scammed. This is why I don't sell phone on ebay.

 

[drpellypo]

Woh - what's with all the derogatory comments? This person has been the victim of fraud which is a horrific experience for anybody. How about some compassion?

 

[HunnieBunnie]

lmfao? only people who will look into this is the site you went through and/or paypal.

was it ebay?

I saw the phone on eBay, but I did not purchase through eBay. Police report has been filed. I am sure the credit card company and the police will investigate this as thoroughly as possible.

 

[Hexaea]

Oh goodness. You should get your money back but I doubt the feds would get involved

 

[Rafterman]

This morning I was very excited to receive the brand new iphone 5s that I had purchased from a seller in Noblesville, Indiana. I paid $600 for the phone. I opened the envelope and was immediately worried. Inside was an iphone 4 box. At first I thought I had been sent an iphone 4, but upon opening the box, I discovered that there was no phone inside at all. The seller sent me a bar of soap!! I was so upset. I notified my credit card company, PayPal, and the Indiana police. Hopefully they will be able to nail this thief.

Has anyone ever heard of this sort of thing before? I was so shocked you could have knocked me over with a feather, as goes the old saying. This happened through U.S. mail, so hopefully the feds might get involved, too.

This happens all the time. Usually, the cops will rarely care unless the credit card company files a complaint. And they usually don't. As long as the Paypal buyer was "confirmed" and you didn't deviate from the Paypal rules, you won't lose the money. But the fact that the seller tried this indicates that he/she/it isn't a confirmed user and will never be seen again. Hopefully, that is not the case for you.

 

[shaunmed]

maybe the phone is IN the soap, you know for shipping protection. or maybe its like a Russian nesting doll. in any case i'm sure the Putin is involved some how. sneaky bastard.

 

[dunxxx]

File a claim with Paypal. They should handle everything and get your money back. I hope you made the transaction through "Goods and Services" and not a "Gift" option payment.

 

[HunnieBunnie]

Why would you pay $600 for a used Iphone 5s????? even if he did send you a 5s you were getting ripped off. new iphone 6 16gb is only $650

It was supposed to be a new, unused iphone 5s 64GB.

 

[Jazper]

I saw the phone on eBay, but I did not purchase through eBay. Police report has been filed. I am sure the credit card company and the police will investigate this as thoroughly as possible.

Yeah... there's your issue, never buy outside ebay ever. eBay buyer protection pretty much always favours the buyer so you would have gotten your money back.

Not sure if anything will happen since you didn't sign any legal agreements etc about the purchase, but good luck.

 

[antiprotest]

I wonder why he sent you anything at all.

 

[HunnieBunnie]

File a claim with Paypal. They should handle everything and get your money back. I hope you made the transaction through "Goods and Services" and not a "Gift" option payment.

Yes, I reported to my credit card company and PayPal. Funny you should mention "gift," I had an offer from someone else to sell me a phone. Sent me a paypal link that said "gift." Naturally, I was not going to send money to a stranger marked as a "gift."

 

[spazma7ik]

I wonder why he sent you anything at all.

To delay the buyer from taking action?

 

[willmtaylor]

I saw the phone on eBay, but I did not purchase through eBay....

...why, again?

 

[Rafterman]

I saw the phone on eBay, but I did not purchase through eBay. Police report has been filed. I am sure the credit card company and the police will investigate this as thoroughly as possible.

This was your first mistake. If you went outside the "system" (eBay), then you won't be covered for the fraud. Always use eBay and Paypal, only ship to confirmed addresses (otherwise, again, you won't get covered for fraud) and never agree to any requests that try to get you outside the "system", like being asked to ship to another address that isn't listed on Paypal and the eBay auction.
.

 

[davefromca]

Yes, I reported to my credit card company and PayPal. Funny you should mention "gift," I had an offer from someone else to sell me a phone. Sent me a paypal link that said "gift." Naturally, I was not going to send money to a stranger marked as a "gift."

Hmm let us know what happened. Ebay is not going to help but but since you used paypal you may get your money back.

 

[pvmacguy]

You needed a bath after that beating you took...... $600 for a 5S pft. LOL

 

[From A Buick 8]

I saw the phone on eBay, but I did not purchase through eBay. Police report has been filed. I am sure the credit card company and the police will investigate this as thoroughly as possible.

You bought this outside of EBay, but through the person who had the item on Ebay. if that is the case then you may have just paid a $600 stupid tax.

Not trying to be harsh but never do that. i have paid plenty of stupid tax in my life so welcome to the club.

 

[kovey]

It was dumb to make the purchase outside of ebay. You lost a lot of protection by doing that.

He is actually correct though, that the USPS postal inspector is a federal agency and they do investigate cases like this one.

Lastly I'm not completely confident regarding the specifications, but I believe the iPhone 5S stands for Soap. It sounds to me like you got the correct product.