I posted about a fake “transaction canceled” email I got but today I experienced a real canceled transaction.
I’ve been looking around for an LG Optimus V phone and thought I’d found the perfect one on Craigslist. It was priced at 60% of what a new phone costs:
VIRGIN MOBILE ANDROID – $120 (RALEIGH)
Date: 2011-03-28, 7:30PM EDTTHIS IS THE LG OPTIMUS V BRAND NEW IN BOX CALL 919-758-xxxx this is a touch screen
I called the woman selling it and asked about the phone. She claimed she had had the phone for four days, that her brother got it for her but he’s on his way back to Japan and she already has a Blackberry. All that sounded legit, but then I asked about the manual.
“I don’t have the manual,” she mumbled.
No manual? After only 4 days with the phone? That raised red flags.
Curious, I decided to plug her name into the State’s offender database. Hoo boy! She’s got multiple convictions of obtaining property by false pretenses, credit card theft, identity theft, larceny, common law robbery, possessing stolen goods, and worthless checks. The charges go back 17 years! She’s made a career of fraud, basically.
After reading this woman’s lengthy rap sheet, I decided I didn’t want to take a chance on a phone that stood a good chance of having been stolen. Buyer beware is definitely the name of the game!