Phone stolen... person who has it wants to return.. whats the scam?

sartois

ess0two wrote: »

Its useless in its present state,as your not out of pocket I'd decline meeting / taking it back.

Yes I completely agree. If the security is that tough to get past on the phone makes the whole crime a little bit pointless.

Silk wrote: »

Strictly speaking as the insurance company has paid you for the phone it should be returned to them when recovered.

Yes. I think I am going to ask him politely to drop it into the nearest police station. That should put an end to it

ballyblack

You will find the Insurance Company are now the legal owners of the phone if it is recovered and they have paid out on the loss. That's what happens to stolen recovered cars

ste_wilko

There is no good reason he wants to meet you to hand it back. It's not like you lost it, it was stolen.

Don't bother with going, it's only going to land you in trouble. Contact the police with your crime reference number and advise them that the guy has arranged to meet you to hand back the stolen phone. I'm pretty sure they'll gladly go in your place, after all it'll be an easy detection and if the guy is in the habit of handling stolen goods he may be wanted for other offences and that will get a scumbag off the street

sartois

ste_wilko wrote: »

There is no good reason he wants to meet you to hand it back. It's not like you lost it, it was stolen.

Don't bother with going, it's only going to land you in trouble. Contact the police with your crime reference number and advise them that the guy has arranged to meet you to hand back the stolen phone. I'm pretty sure they'll gladly go in your place, after all it'll be an easy detection and if the guy is in the habit of handling stolen goods he may be wanted for other offences and that will get a scumbag off the street

Yep I'm not going to bother going...I sent him a text and he replied back to my text which gave me his email address too.

Anyway told the police, gave them all his details and left it with them to see if there is anything they want to do. As has been said, it's not my phone any more so not much point in collecting it

ste_wilko

sartois wrote: »

Yep I'm not going to bother going...I sent him a text and he replied back to my text which gave me his email address too.

Anyway told the police, gave them all his details and left it with them to see if there is anything they want to do. As has been said, it's not my phone any more so not much point in collecting it

Yeah, I agree that there's no point in you collecting the phone. But from the police's point of view they could very well tie up a few outstanding cases, because the likelyhood is that the guy will have other stolen stuff in his house/flat/cardboard box and they'll be able to get them back too

usignuolo

Sounds like he has a cover story for receiving a stolen phone and is looking for a finders reward. Avoid.

Tyler_Du

sartois wrote: »

Yep I'm not going to bother going...I sent him a text and he replied back to my text which gave me his email address too.

How do you get someones email address from a text msg ?

Auntie-Dolly

perhaps he wants to meet up and mug you for your new phone?

mije1983

Tyler_Durden_UK wrote: »

How do you get someones email address from a text msg ?

I read it that the person has replied to the text and given the OP their email address.

john1

ste_wilko wrote: »

because the likelyhood is that the guy will have other stolen stuff in his house/flat/cardboard box and they'll be able to get them back too

I understand if original ownership cannot be proven, then the police have difficulty proving the items have been stolen.

For this reason my local constabulary recommend the Immobilise system to which they and most high street stores check when dealing with "lost/secondhand" property.

see also this video