You might be out some cash from this whole thing but you are going to get massive karma points. I would do as one other person suggested and have the original owner meet you at a police station, or at least somewhere in public like a McDonalds just to be safe.
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Stuck with a stolen iPhone. Should I contact the original owner?
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Let the police deal with the security guard. Looks like he doesn't like his job very much. He'll likely lose his job for selling a phone he may have "found". Some security guard.
Keep this thread up to date. Love to hear how it plays out.
Here in Arizona, security guards are certified by DPS (State Police)....he would end up in jail..fast.
Let the owner know you got it. It's the right thing to do and you'll feel good about it. Plus, think if it were YOU who lost it
I personally always think this way when I have a hard decision, this is one of the best comments here.
First off ... i'd need to know the original owner had it stolen ... and didn't just lose it and claim it was stolen (did they file a police report?), and yes it makes a difference.
If it was truly stolen, I would contact the original owner and say, I purchased this phone on craigs (provide craigs post, etc), since it was not re-set I did some research and came upon you. I paid $XXX for the phone, if you want to reimburse me what I paid, you can have the phone back because I'm not going to be out $200-$300 for the circumstance, or you can just have your contacts back for free (since I'd assume the person already has a new phone). Let them make the choice what they want to do.
I'm a very moral person, so don't think I'm out to screw anyway, but a bad circumstance doesn't mean you should be out a couple hundred bucks.
If it was truly stolen, I would contact the original owner and say, I purchased this phone on craigs (provide craigs post, etc), since it was not re-set I did some research and came upon you. I paid $XXX for the phone, if you want to reimburse me what I paid, you can have the phone back because I'm not going to be out $200-$300 for the circumstance, or you can just have your contacts back for free (since I'd assume the person already has a new phone). Let them make the choice what they want to do.
I'm a very moral person, so don't think I'm out to screw anyway, but a bad circumstance doesn't mean you should be out a couple hundred bucks.
Yeah, I avoid dealing with craigslist for this very reason, I don't want to enrich a thief.
A few years ago, someone took a sledgehammer and busted in the front of my brother's door, took 2 laptops, an iPod video, a Wii, and his 5 year old son's piggy bank. I would love to have gotten some of the stuff back because someone researched and put the serial number into google (it still shows up on a post on a stolen item web site.)
Later they arrested someone who had the same MO, although they could never prove all the places he robbed, except the stolen items he had in his car when he was busted. It turned out he was selling the items to get money for Meth.
I hope the OP did the right thing and contacted the police, although by doing so he will probably be out the money he spent on the iPhone. Please keep us advised if you did so, I think we would be interested in the outcome of the thief who stole or trafficked the stolen phone.
EDIT: Oh, and if I received an email like the post above, I would go to the cops and have them track whoever had sent the email. You can't buy stolen property, and then "ransom" it to the original owner. The recourse for the person who unknowingly purchased stolen goods is to sue the seller in small claims court. If it is stolen property, it should be a slam dunk case if you go to court, they can't sell something they stole/don't own.
A few years ago, someone took a sledgehammer and busted in the front of my brother's door, took 2 laptops, an iPod video, a Wii, and his 5 year old son's piggy bank. I would love to have gotten some of the stuff back because someone researched and put the serial number into google (it still shows up on a post on a stolen item web site.)
Later they arrested someone who had the same MO, although they could never prove all the places he robbed, except the stolen items he had in his car when he was busted. It turned out he was selling the items to get money for Meth.
I hope the OP did the right thing and contacted the police, although by doing so he will probably be out the money he spent on the iPhone. Please keep us advised if you did so, I think we would be interested in the outcome of the thief who stole or trafficked the stolen phone.
EDIT: Oh, and if I received an email like the post above, I would go to the cops and have them track whoever had sent the email. You can't buy stolen property, and then "ransom" it to the original owner. The recourse for the person who unknowingly purchased stolen goods is to sue the seller in small claims court. If it is stolen property, it should be a slam dunk case if you go to court, they can't sell something they stole/don't own.
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He didn't knowingly buy stolen property, he bought something that turned out to be stolen, which he wasn't obligated to research in the first place.
Also, by the OP's first post, the contacts seemed to be the main issue here, as long as the owner gets those back, the moral clause should be satisfied. I would feel bad if I knew this guy was in need of his contacts and I deleted them and went about my day.
As an honest/moral person, i'm not going to "give up" a couple of hundred bucks, take the seller to small claims court where i'm likely not going to get any money back (my father works in real estate, small claims court often nets you $0 even if the judge awards it to you, and I doubt your getting anything out of a person who is selling stolen goods, if they even showed up for court which is doubtful).
If I was in the same situation, I'd be happy to get my contacts back, and i'd offer to buy my phone back, I wouldn't expect someone to pay to give me my phone back. I'd also still need to be sold on the fact it was stolen. How do we know the original owner had it stolen, and he didn't leave it in a restaurant, or on a table at a mall?
Being moral doesn't mean being taken advantage of. If being moral in this situation is netting the OP a ton of trouble and -$300, no wonder there are very few moral people. As I said above, i'd just be happy to get my contacts back.
I agree. I am almost convinced that none of this ever happened. I am totally convinced that if it did, he would not return it anyway.
If he was going to, he would have done so straight away as soon as he heard about the previous owner's loss.
Return it, but the useless police will not do any thing! Thousands of phone are stolen and lost every day. Police hardly show up unless someone is dead.
He may not have been obligated to research that, but now that he knows it was stolen he is obligated to return it, and it probably wouldn't hurt for him to contact the police so he doesn't get accused of stealing it himself, and also so that the guy who sold it to him can get arrested.
Unlikely you'll get your money back so i'd say keep it....BUT if you can afford to return it i thats the right thing to do
Little redundant?
Ok...I'll restate. The OP hasn't replied in a while. Let it die.
I find it really strange that some people in this thread think that the moral thing to do is keep it so you are not out money. I would hate to think what would be immoral in that case.
Ultimately once you. Find out you have purchased stolen property it is on you to make it right because you should have done your due diligence in the first place. It's not the original owners problem that you spent money on stolen goods. Hope to see the OP update that he got it back to the original owner.
Ultimately once you. Find out you have purchased stolen property it is on you to make it right because you should have done your due diligence in the first place. It's not the original owners problem that you spent money on stolen goods. Hope to see the OP update that he got it back to the original owner.
Phone is not stolen
I contacted the person who "lost" it. I asked him if his phone was stolen recently. He said No. Then I explained to him why I called him. He said he sells iPhone to make some extra cash, that he buys from various "sources" and sells them on craigslist. The phone I have is probably sold by the person who "bought" it from him. The way he tests the phones: pops in his SIM, imports the contacts, makes few calls and then buys the phone. He said he forgets to delete the contacts sometimes before selling them. That doesn't explain why his email is stored as Apple store ID, why his video/music/photos were not deleted. It sounded b u l l **** to me. He said he doesn't need the contacts and I can use the phone. I am still wary of this deal. Sorry for wasting your time. I realy felt the phone was stolen. How else would you interpret the following FB postings?
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Someone banged my phone ****!
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Lost hella contacts.
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Who gotta iPhone for sale ? Hit me up!
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Who got a verison phone ? hmu !
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Lookin for an iphone . Hit me up if yu got one!
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******* , still loookin' for an iphone . Someone hmu!
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Whoever got a iphone hmu !
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Finally got my iPhone
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Who got a Verizon phone ? Hit me up fast !
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Fresh new iPhone! Now I just needa get it unlocked.
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No numbers . Hit my phone with ur name !
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Send me a text with ur name! xxx-xxx-xxxx
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Finally back in tha iPhone game
I contacted the person who "lost" it. I asked him if his phone was stolen recently. He said No. Then I explained to him why I called him. He said he sells iPhone to make some extra cash, that he buys from various "sources" and sells them on craigslist. The phone I have is probably sold by the person who "bought" it from him. The way he tests the phones: pops in his SIM, imports the contacts, makes few calls and then buys the phone. He said he forgets to delete the contacts sometimes before selling them. That doesn't explain why his email is stored as Apple store ID, why his video/music/photos were not deleted. It sounded b u l l **** to me. He said he doesn't need the contacts and I can use the phone. I am still wary of this deal. Sorry for wasting your time. I realy felt the phone was stolen. How else would you interpret the following FB postings?
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Someone banged my phone ****!
-
Lost hella contacts.
-
Who gotta iPhone for sale ? Hit me up!
-
Who got a verison phone ? hmu !
-
Lookin for an iphone . Hit me up if yu got one!
-
******* , still loookin' for an iphone . Someone hmu!
-
Whoever got a iphone hmu !
-
Finally got my iPhone
-
Who got a Verizon phone ? Hit me up fast !
-
Fresh new iPhone! Now I just needa get it unlocked.
-
No numbers . Hit my phone with ur name !
-
Send me a text with ur name! xxx-xxx-xxxx
-
Finally back in tha iPhone game
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