Bought stolen iPad what now?

[Mcsmith1963]

Hey guys,

Bought an iPad 1 with 3 g for my husband as a birthday gift yesterday. I have been checking craigslist for the last 2 weeks and found what in was looking for Not, anyway I sent a email through craigslist , I also sent a text swell as the guy provided a phone number on the post. This person ( male /female you don't know) said they didn't want to give out their home address for security reasons , I can understand that.... Hey the didn't know me ...anyway I met him at a walgreens , I turned on the iPad to make sure it worked , paid for it and left. Got home and tried to hook up to the Internet and surprise a message came up with a phone no on it , I called this person and they informed me that the iPad was stolen , I gave him the phone number of the guy that sold it to me, he told me he would call me today.I in turn call the seller and sent a text og course no response. Here is my question.... I know finally! I feel bad for the guy that had his iPad stolen , however I am out $450.00 , I can't afford to be out that kind of money, what do I do now?

Any help would be great ........

Thanks marei

 

[Plainsman]

You're probably stuck. What you should do is get the police involved, since you have the seller's phone number (if it's still valid). Most likely you've seen the last of your $450.

Not exactly kosher, but I reckon you could call the seller and tell him to cough up your $450 or you turn him over to the cops. He does NOT get the iPad back of course. That goes to the guy who lost it in the first place.

This is just top-o'-the-head stuff and certainly NOT legal advice.

 

[bdullea]

Technically you are in pocession of stolen property. If the person who had stolen reported it police etc. You really should return it. As for the money lesson learn, beware of craigslist I have heard this story many times. That's not what you want to hear, but if the original gets the police involved an can prove it is his, you will loose it anyway. Again sorry I feel bad but again chalk it up to a learning experience.

 

[jsh1120]

You're stuck. You purchased stolen merchandise. You should certainly contact the police, recognizing that the result is unlikely to restore your $$.

No guarantee, of course, but you might ask the rightful owner to reduce your exposure in the form of a reward for returning the iPad. (This assumes, of course, that the "rightful owner" can prove his/her ownership and has filed a report of his/her own with the police.) You might also inquire as to whether the original owner was insured against the loss. You don't have an obligation to assist in insurance fraud as well theft.

 

[blucente]

All sound advice, you know what you have to do!

5.0

 

[Harley man]

The guy that sold it to could be scamming you to . By saying it was stolen. To get his iPad back and keep your money . Maybe should call the cops .or maybe the person that is the owner will give you half your money back as reward

from USA bucks county pa Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[iFrog]

I will contact the police right the way. It's really suspicious that the message was not in there when you turned the iPad on at Walgreens, then after you got home you saw that.

I'm with Harley, this guy can be pulling a fast one on you as well! Let the police sort the hole think out and hope for the best.

Good luck.

iFrog - Sent from my iPad2 using iPF

 

[Mcsmith1963]

Thanks for replying! The original owner I believe lives in Los angles , I bought it in Chicago , I believe it was stolen at the airport! I haven't heard back from the original owner as yet today. I just can't believe that craigslist is not accountable for what they put out there, it's not like I have $450.00 laying around , it took months to save up . Seems like the only person getting screwed is me.I suppose I'll be expected to pay for the shipping of the iPad back to the person that allowed it to be stolen!

 

[M325i]

Woah that really is unfortunate, I say you set up another meeting with the person you found on criagslist selling the stolen iPad. Then you get the police involved, explain the situation to the police, let them talk to the seller and return the iPad to rightful owner. Who knows you might get some sort of reward reimbursing some of your money. My main point here is you try to go after the guy that sold you the iPad because this probably isn't his first time doing this.

 

[Plainsman]

There's always Manny "Three Fingers" Gianbatista. Works cheap on weekends.

 

[autumnbaby]

Unfortunately that is the chance you take and is one of the reasons why I won't buy or sell anything on craigslist; it is too easy to get scammed or even hurt if things go wrong.

As for the shipping costs to get it back to the person...I would contact the police first and if they tell you to give it back have the original owner set up a FedEx account. They give you their ID number and FedEx charges their account rather than yours. I had to do this when I lost my cell phone at the Denver airport and someone turned it back in.

 

[Pinkpoison]

I had the same thought as someone else in the thread,it could be a scam,there could be more than one person involved,tell the police,they may know of people who do this sort of thing. Hope you come out of it ok anyway,it's rotten.

 

[K1W1]

The guy that sold it to could be scamming you to . By saying it was stolen. To get his iPad back and keep your money . Maybe should call the cops .or maybe the person that is the owner will give you half your money back as reward from USA bucks county pa Sent from my iPad using iPF

That's what it sounds like to me.
Strange how it had been advertised for some time on Craigslist then worked at the meet up but soon after was "stolen".
I'd be reporting the seller to the cops as a scammer.

 

[bdullea]

If it was stolen at the airport in la area, I live in the area and a few weeks back a baggage handler was caught stealing electronics, so the person who you say is the real owner maybe telling the truth. There were arrest made at the airport for just that, he would steal the items them put them on eBay and craigslist during his lunch hour and most they found were sold before the end of the same day, he did it for at least 3-6 months and they figure he made close to 60k in that time frame. Nice use of your lunch hour. Again sorry for the scam but again live in learn, I understand about the money but not much you can do, trying to hold craiglist accountable will not get you very far, they clearly say buyer beware, check your sources etc.

 

[SingingSabre]

You have to get the police involved. It's only the right thing to do here. If you're concerned about the person who reported it as stolen being in cahoots with the seller, offer to meet up with the victim at the police station.