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iPad mini Sold iPad and got counterfeit money, how should I take action?

Don't you have certain e-banking options to make instant cash-less transactions between private parties through your phone?

But I guess I wouldn't have checked either. It's one of those things where you just have so much faith in the system that something that silly couldn't happen from selling an iPad.

...Except in China where I live now. Every 100 yuan bill (which is about $20, the biggest bill available) is rigorously checked by hand or through money counters two-three times. I've heard stories about people withdrawing too much cash from an ATM but unable to return the cash because the machine says they're counterfeit!
 
s2mikey said:
Hate to say this but I would have just spent it here and there and rid myself of the fake cash. Why should you get screwed? Play dumb. It's not like you counterfeited it. You didn't know.... It's as simple as that.
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Sorry but the OP did what he should have done. As soon as he realized the bills were fake, he could no longer use them. Knowingly passing counterfeit money is a crime, not just printing it. For a few hundred bucks you would risk having a criminal record? I know there are two people from this thread I would consider untrustworthy: the person who passed the counterfeit money in the first place, and s2mikey.
 
fullauto said:
Ouch. How did you realise it was counterfeit?

I would still report it to Apple anyway.
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Apple won't do anything, likely can't. it was a personal transaction and they can't block the iPad from working outside of activation lock, which the seller likely turned off.

perhaps if the police make the request, Apple could look up what apple id is now being used and track the person that way. But they aren't going to do it for a random person.

Contact the local Secret Service office, they handle counterfeiting. Give them all information about the buyer, the officer that took the report and fake money.
 
i have a pen that detects counterfeit money. on the end is a UV light that shows the internal strip also.

basically the way i conduct my sales on craigslist is this:

1) agree to meet at a Starbucks, Panera, or Apple Store
2) place item on the table and hold onto the item
3) request that buyer takes out cash, counts it on the table and uses my pen on the money to verify it is authentic
4) slide item to buyer so he can open it up and inspect it while i then take back the pen and verify the strips and other markings with the UV light


the reason why i do this is because a while back a buy tried to break the seal and open up a brand new ipad that i was flipping without showing me the cash. something seemed odd, so i asked to see the money. he said "I GOT THE MONEY". i said i want to see the money. he said he has it, not to worry. i take the ipad back and i say show it to me and count it. he counted it and he was $75 short.

he was hoping to have been able to score the iPad for $75 less and since he opened it, he was figuring i would just agree to the sale. yeah, nice try
 
maflynn said:
All things being equal, you felt something was up, next time if you have that sort of unease, walk away. Don't execute the sale.
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Mike just nailed it, buy the * The Gift of Fear * by Gavin de Becker, which is a very good read & follows this concept. Sent it to my 27yro dau. to help w/ bolstering her situational awareness.

That said I had a mutt try to do a snatch & grab of my IPad4, I latched onto the pad, he threw the funny $ down (400. also) & in turn I bypassed the PD & went straight to the Secret Service w/ said bogus cash.

Learn from it, buy the book & drive on.
 
Fzang said:
Don't you have certain e-banking options to make instant cash-less transactions between private parties through your phone?
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Some banking apps allow this, usually for transfers between accounts at the same bank. A more secure option is PayPal's mobile app, since no bank details need to be exchanged. The person just needs your email address or phone number, which they presumably have if you arranged to meet with them, and they send the money from their own PayPal account to yours. You get a near-instant confirmation of how much money was received, and there's a "paper trail" (through PayPal) that money changed hands.

I've only had one buyer on Craigslist request to use PayPal, but I found that I greatly preferred it. No need to worry about counting money or dealing with counterfeits; no need to worry about someone jumping you later and taking the money that you have on you. Transferring funds from PayPal to your bank account is pretty painless as well, in my experience (assuming you already have your bank account linked).

PayPal has currently messed something up such that you need to disable two-factor authentication if you want to set up the iOS app for the first time, but once that's done then you can re-enable it. I can recommend it for these types of transactions.
 
dndandrea said:
Already filed police report, which obviously won't help me.

Is there anything I can extract from iTunes or backup files such as the serial number to report stolen? Then could reporting it as stolen send a signal out when the iPad is turned on?

Just happened tonight, i'm out $400. Lesson learned, but would like to take action and attempt to get my money back or justice.

edit: I found the serial number, but I just realized Apple does not offer to help in situations like these. Does anyone have any suggestions or is there nothing I can do?
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Do you have an update on this?
 
And this is why I hate cash. I never knew people could haul you off to prison just for having fake money. What the hell?

You could easily pick it up from a store while receiving change, or as a tip from a customer.
 
Wow! I just sold a motorcycle for $7300 cash the other day. 100s and 50s. I never checked for counterfeit. :confused:
 
laudern said:
When is america going to get real money like Australia and Canada, which are much harder to confer-fit and extremely obvious in nearly all cases when it is counterfeited?
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We're already working on it! Look at the latest $20+ bills.

Trouble is, the previous bills already in circulation and are easier to counterfeit, so counterfeiters will target those and still get away with it.

The banks need to work harder at removing older bills from circulation.
 
AttilaTheHun said:
I meat in a bank and let a teller check it
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Talking of meat I sold an iPhone and ended up with a counterfeit sheep. I had no idea until I used one of those special marker pens, it made all the right noises and eat grass. Turned out to be a cat in a heavy wool wig.

Now what am I going to do?
 
baypharm said:
You are a very lucky fellow. One of our employees sold a MBP and received a counterfeit cashiers check. The bank notified the police. They thumped and banged on his door and he caved and opened it. They hauled him away and he was later convicted of possession of a counterfeit payment instrument, a felony. His pleas that he had no prior knowledge that the check was bad went unheard. He was convicted based on the fact that he was in mere possession of something illegal. Mens Rea no longer protects Americans.

I realize that laws vary from state to state but I wanted you to know how lucky you are that the police didn't take you away.
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How stupid can someone be to take a check.
 
baypharm said:
You are a very lucky fellow. One of our employees sold a MBP and received a counterfeit cashiers check. The bank notified the police. They thumped and banged on his door and he caved and opened it. They hauled him away and he was later convicted of possession of a counterfeit payment instrument, a felony. His pleas that he had no prior knowledge that the check was bad went unheard. He was convicted based on the fact that he was in mere possession of something illegal. Mens Rea no longer protects Americans.

I realize that laws vary from state to state but I wanted you to know how lucky you are that the police didn't take you away.
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1 of 2 things: 1) That's entirely made up. Or 2) That person tried to represent themself. There isn't a first year law student in the US that couldn't get that kicked if it really was as you described.

We do see people from time to time in both civil AND criminal litigation that are dumb enough to try and represent themselves. If we have time and it's an open courtroom there is usually nothing more amusing than going to watch, ESPECIALLY if it's open family (divorce) court... Oh the stories... LOL

Needless to say, I don't doubt that this story "could" be true, it's just highly unlikely unless everything went wrong. Mens Rea arguments hold water (to some extent, especially in non-violent criminal proceedings) in every state in the US.

The only way this happened is if this sap had a fool for a client...
 
legioxi said:
Selling to a stranger is fine...

1. Buy a money marker for determining if bills are counterfeit
2. meet in a very public place
3. No checks/money orders/cashier's checks. Cash only
4. Never give out your address
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Money markers are pretty useless for current batch of counterfeit US bills. You can buy like $1K of bills for about $50 online at a number of darkweb and even legit web marketplaces.

These new crop of readily-available counterfeit $50's and $100's pass the watermark, pen test and even have the little strip in them. All they won't pass is a magnetic ink test, but you'd need to be pretty hardcore to catch that while selling your iPad to a guy at the mall food court.

I agree with points 2, 3 and 4 however.

Source: http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/08/counterfeit-u-s-cash-floods-crime-forums/
 
As said, count your lucky starts that you aren't in a top security federal prison camp right now... the US has NO MERCY on victims of crime.
 
At least you got fake money. I left my iPad in the flight that left for china, the next day. I knew I had left the iPad as soon as i got off the united flight and the lady told me to check with lost and found as these things usually always turn up as I had find my phone turned on. Which means as soon as the iPad is formatted and hits the internet I would be notified. Its been 11 months since and I'm sure the iPad has hit the streets of China well. :(

Another fraud that I went through was actually as safe as eBay. I got greedy and offered the seller direct Paypal. and that person duped me. I opened the case and he called and convinced that it is shipped and I closed the case thinking I can always open another case if it does not arrive. Nothing came and Paypal wouldn't help. Neither did the bank as the funding was authorized between me and the bank.

If you have the cash. How do you know its fake in the first place. Did you try to deposit it? Get a sandwich at in n out. I wouldn't ever know if I get fake. That's why I never sell anything on craigslist.
 
foofan said:
here is a similar incident that happened recently

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/I-Will-Kill-You-Man-Charged-in-Craigslist-Robbery-272041611.html
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Essentially you read my mind. Similar situation happened with me. The point I'm trying to make here is that one in a hundred stories make it to the attention of the police. Since this was documented by the Walmart camera,the police had to work. In my case I went to the police station and they told me let the person come home. Then call us. and this is LAPD. The other day I saw a few folks have a bad fight below my apartment and I though someone would surely be hurt. I called the police dept and they asked me is anyone injured to which I said that as of yet no one and no cop turned up.

The other day I was a witness to an accident and called the cops. They asked if someone is hurt, to which I replied, I don't believe so and they asked to tell the folks to sort it out with the insurance and they have other issues to deal with.

I had my bikes stoken and the cops told me to look for it on craigslist ebay and then call them back if I found them online.

I had a cc fraud and the cops asked me are you sure it isin't you or your wife and then they said we dont have time for this. the credit card company will handle it.

and this is LAPD.
 
Sorry to hear that. I just read a tip on another site that recommends asking the buyer to get a money order during the time of the transaction to be on the safe side. I think I might do that if I can find a buyer on Craigslist.
 
G-Ziss said:
Sorry to hear that. I just read a tip on another site that recommends asking the buyer to get a money order during the time of the transaction to be on the safe side. I think I might do that if I can find a buyer on Craigslist.
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Great idea. Have them go get the money order with you.
 
I'm really sorry to here what happened to the OP. Fortunately s/he did the right thing in contacting the police.

I know hindsight is 20/20, but in the U.S., Staples sells a pen that will test bills to see if they are counterfeit. I think one costs something like US$8 or so.

I've seen the same pen used in banks.
 
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