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

ste_wilko

john1 wrote: »

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

Yeah, immobilise is brilliant. That's how the police find stolen stuff in people's residences

anotheruser

Why is everyone saying AVOID?

You're not out of pocket but if you wanted it back then tell them that you will send a family member/friend/who ever and then go yourself.
Give yourself a fake name.

While it would be great to ask them to meet at a police station, unlikely they would. The police can't do anything anyway as there is no proof the person who has it stole it... then again handling stolen goods I suppose.

Also, those people who expect a "finders fee" are morons.
I wouldn't be paying for it back, especially as the insurance company has now paid you for it.

ste_wilko

anotheruser wrote: »

Why is everyone saying AVOID?

You're not out of pocket but if you wanted it back then tell them that you will send a family member/friend/who ever and then go yourself.
Give yourself a fake name.

While it would be great to ask them to meet at a police station, unlikely they would. The police can't do anything anyway as there is no proof the person who has it stole it... then again handling stolen goods I suppose.

Also, those people who expect a "finders fee" are morons.
I wouldn't be paying for it back, especially as the insurance company has now paid you for it.

The reason to avoid it is because there is no good reason the guy wants to return it. He knows very well he could get his 'mate' into trouble for handing it back. He is up to something, it's very different to being a good samaritan that has merely found it and wants to hand it back

SteveHenshaw

I would go meet him. He might be good looking.

On a serious note, I wouldn't bother. There's not really much to gain from doing so.