I got scammed :/

[Queen of Spades]

thanks guys! really appreciate the kind words. trying to get over it. just knowing what i could have done to prevent this really irks me.

oh well. i have an apple store appointment at 1045 to get it checked out. at least the guy had some decency to leave some warranty for me! haha

it could have been worse, he could have given me a 2009 model, which is the model i sold to get the air (of course i had to add 250 lol. the irony)

It sucks and you didn't deserve that. But sometimes even knowledgeable people get scammed. I was helping my best friend buy a 13" aluminum MacBook about a year ago. We found a listing we liked, contacted the guy - even met at a Starbucks. I tested everything out with her, internet, super drive, all the keys, etc. I thought we were pretty thorough, so she paid and we left.

Once we got the computer home and she was on it for a few hours, the whole screen dissolved into colored lines and then white, then it had to be shut off. Apparently the GPU was fried, but it only shows up when the computer gets warm. So the 15 minutes we spent in Starbucks wasn't enough to trigger it, but it was essentially a very, very expensive paper weight. I felt so terrible because I was with her, I tested it right along with her.

Of course the guy disappeared, we could never reach him again. I honestly felt sick. We'd all just moved to LA and were looking for jobs, so money was incredibly hard to come by. I've learned to be anally thorough when buying used, and I'm sure you will be now too. It's terrible there are people out there like that, but unfortunately, not everyone has a basic set of morals. Good luck OP, I hope this computer works out for you at least. Get it checked out at Apple and keep trying to track that guy down.

 

[getz76]

Red flag, betcha it's all pirated. Did they include a single CD or valid serial?

Right. $4,000 worth of software... I don't think it is all legitimate.

 

[lavrishevo]

Not to put salt on your wound but there is no such thing as a 2.7 ghz quad-core MBP. Only 2.2 & 2.3

 

[OptyCT]

I wouldn't sweat that douche for a second longer. Someday, he'll cross the wrong person and get what he deserves. What you have in hand is a MacBook unibody that you can squeeze some $$$ out of. You have some equity that you can turn over to a newer MacBook. You might not look at it this way now, but this is a valuable lesson. Losing the amount of $$$ that you did is worth the cost of the lesson learned. You may have lost several hundred $$$ today, but what you learned may save you thousands in the future.

 

[blueroom]

Is there a bootable (CD,USB,SD) way to check a MacBook?

 

[kalsta]

I guess it happens to all of us at some time, and probably the more honest a person you are, the more likely you are to assume the other guy is honest too, so take that as some encouragement when you're feeling naive and foolish.

It happened to me with an iMac years ago. Turned out to have an intermittent startup fault, but the guy had it running when I arrived and I never suspected a thing. He also promised some software that he didn't have the disks for when I arrived, but said they were at his dad's place or something and that he would send them to me, which never happened. Silly boy because I knew his address, and had I been the vengeful type, it would have been real easy to send a brick through his window.

Sometimes it's better to just take a deep breath, and be thankful you had parents who raised you better.

 

[jsgreen]

If there are programs installed which have been registered, I'd look through all of their "About" screens to see if the jerk registered his name with any. Long shot, but worth a few minutes - you might get his name (or, if the machine was stolen or otherwise procured from someone else, the original owner).

 

[Sgt93]

oh you can totally edit system profiler to say whatever you want

you have his number? I'd call the cops about it personally

edit: sounds like he iblacklisted your number

Civil issue. He would have to take the guy to civil court over the dispute.

 

[acedickson]

Sorry things went poorly for you.

When I deal with people from Craigslist and expensive items I have started exchanging copies of driver's licenses so I have solid proof in the event something is misrepresented or ends up stolen. I got the idea from pawn shops.

I might still contact the police and ask what might be done. It could be possible to track him down through his IP address that he used to log into the, most likely phony, email account. That could lead to an address if he used it at home but I don't know how far the police would go. Call the RIAA, they like to track people down.

 

[ViviUO]

Post his phone number on this internet. Screw ' em.

 

[clickclickw00t]

Bro:

Leave him an e-mail
Leave him a voicemail
Call your local police department and make a police report.
Try to go to the McDonalds and get a DVD copy made of the video.
Email craigslist to see if he used a different e-mail to post on craigslist.

MAKE SURE YOU E-MAIL him, and write down ALL OF HIS INFO.
I did this when I was sold a stolen Blackberry in NYC, and I had the guy arrested, and got my money back..

 

[fat jez]

I did this when I was sold a stolen Blackberry in NYC, and I had the guy arrested, and got my money back..

Actually, this is a good point. How do you know that MBP was even his? You might have traded him for a stolen one and now he has a clean MBA and your dough.

 

[Locodice]

Alarm bells should have rung as soon as you read 13inch quadcore - it doesn't exist.

 

[awer25]

I don't see that it's a police issue. He saw the laptop, examined it, and decided to go with it. At any time he could have bailed, no one twisted his arm.

I agree, it sucks, but I don't see that it's really a scam or a police issue unless the machine comes back as stolen. Caveat Emptor definitely.

If you're going to buy and sell used equipment should have a bootable disc with diagnostics though rather than trust a sellers word for it.

False pretenses is a crime.

False pretenses or obtaining property by false pretenses is when a person obtains property by intentionally misrepresenting a past or existing fact.

 

[jenzjen]

False pretenses is a crime.

I don't know the subtleties involved, but when he showed up at the meet, the item the seller brought was clearly not the one he described, so would false pretenses still apply? I consider it as an entirely separate transaction.

Ex, I'm advertising a black BMW for sale, but I bring a white BMW. If the buyer goes ahead and purchases the vehicle, is it still false pretenses when it is clearly the one not described?

Buyer had the chance to walk away but proceeded anyway. Remember the ad reads new laptop, has X software, etc ... laptop brought was not new, dirty and no software.

 

[madonionrings]

Bro:

Leave him an e-mail
Leave him a voicemail
Call your local police department and make a police report.
Try to go to the McDonalds and get a DVD copy made of the video.
Email craigslist to see if he used a different e-mail to post on craigslist.

MAKE SURE YOU E-MAIL him, and write down ALL OF HIS INFO.
I did this when I was sold a stolen Blackberry in NYC, and I had the guy arrested, and got my money back..

+1

You only really lost if you give up. It will take some work on your part, but you will likely come out ahead.

 

[ipodlover77]

+1

You only really lost if you give up. It will take some work on your part, but you will likely come out ahead.

Will mcdonalds disclose a copy of the security tape?

Would this work even If this guy supposedly lives in PA

 

[Sodner]

Will mcdonalds disclose a copy of the security tape?

Would this work even If this guy supposedly lives in PA

Maybe its time to inquire with the actual police. So they say, "Sorry you got taken but nothing we can do." whats that hurt. But perhaps they might help. It's worth a call.

Call your local police!

 

[awer25]

I don't know the subtleties involved, but when he showed up at the meet, the item the seller brought was clearly not the one he described, so would false pretenses still apply? I consider it as an entirely separate transaction.

Ex, I'm advertising a black BMW for sale, but I bring a white BMW. If the buyer goes ahead and purchases the vehicle, is it still false pretenses when it is clearly the one not described?

Buyer had the chance to walk away but proceeded anyway. Remember the ad reads new laptop, has X software, etc ... laptop brought was not new, dirty and no software.

I'm pretty sure it would still apply because it meets all the criteria...

"when a person obtains property by intentionally misrepresenting a past or existing fact"

The Craigslist guy obtained title (title is a required element too) to property (the Air) by intentionally misrepresenting an existing fact (blacklisted serial, misrepresenting the CPU and model, etc). Even if the fact that it was not new was thrown out because it was obvious, other latent issues were still misrepresented.

(I'm studying for the bar exam, and of all topics, today's lecture was actually criminal law and false pretenses lol)

EDIT: That last comment was not added to prove I know what I'm talking about, but just to tell a funny story.

 

[lavrishevo]

The add states specifications for a computer that does not exist! I mean did you not even bother to look up the computer being sold? I think you need to bite the bullet and come to terms with your mistake. There is no such thing as a 13" quad core let alone at 2.7 ghz.

Honestly, it sounds like both parties did not know what they were talking about or doing.

 

[AdrianK]

The add states specifications for a computer that does not exist! I mean did you not even bother to look up the computer being sold? I think you need to bite the bullet and come to terms with your mistake. There is no such thing as a 13" quad core let alone at 2.7 ghz.

Honestly, it sounds like both parties did not know what they were talking about or doing.

First thing I do when I open the computer is check the info. MacBook 8,2, core i7 ...the missing thunderbolt... It's a mid 2010 MacBook pro.

On the contrary, the seller new exactly what they were doing. Pretty damn hard to accidentally mess with system strings to make a Core2Duo show up an i7.

 

[jenzjen]

I'm pretty sure it would still apply because it meets all the criteria...

"when a person obtains property by intentionally misrepresenting a past or existing fact"

The Craigslist guy obtained title (title is a required element too) to property (the Air) by intentionally misrepresenting an existing fact (blacklisted serial, misrepresenting the CPU and model, etc). Even if the fact that it was not new was thrown out because it was obvious, other latent issues were still misrepresented.

(I'm studying for the bar exam, and of all topics, today's lecture was actually criminal law and false pretenses lol)

EDIT: That last comment was not added to prove I know what I'm talking about, but just to tell a funny story.

Just playing devil's advocate ... let's say you can't prove the seller changed the information (for the sake of argument he was scammed himself and just didn't know it plus didn't know the serial was gone on the bottom - I know, a stretch), the case falls apart, right, since it reads like it must be intentional?

 

[awer25]

The add states specifications for a computer that does not exist! I mean did you not even bother to look up the computer being sold? I think you need to bite the bullet and come to terms with your mistake. There is no such thing as a 13" quad core let alone at 2.7 ghz.

Honestly, it sounds like both parties did not know what they were talking about or doing.

It's entirely possible to buy a new 13" MBP with a 2.7GHz i7, just not quad core. If I saw that ad, my first thought would be that he's made a simple mistake thinking that all i7's are quad core, and that it's the 2011 high-end 13" model.

Of course, then I would laugh at his "price is firm" statement at $1500 and go buy my own from Apple for the same price. I can get my own bootleg software - I don't need his

 

[awer25]

Just playing devil's advocate ... let's say you can't prove the seller changed the information (for the sake of argument he was scammed himself and just didn't know it plus didn't know the serial was gone on the bottom - I know, a stretch), the case falls apart, right, since it reads like it must be intentional?

No problem All crimes require some level of intent, but that's to be convicted. He could still be arrested for the crime. I was originally responding to someone who said that it wasn't a police matter b/c the OP could have walked away. If like you said, that he was scammed himself, then he wouldn't likely be convicted (unless somehow the prosecution did an amazing job and the defendant couldn't create any doubt in their case).

 

[mox123]

i feel bad for the OP

Incidentally, how does one change the system profiler??? I too thought it couldn't be done

tell me and at least make this a positive lesson out of an extremely unfortunate and negative event!