Dodgy buyer runs off with phone
An Auckland radio jockey who was robbed of his cellphone after finding a buyer online is warning others to be wary of who they are dealing with.
Jilesh Desai, of Takanini, had listed his cellphone for sale on Facebook’s Marketplace last week and was soon contacted by an interested buyer, who said he lived in the same area.
After exchanging messages for a while, the buyer agreed to buy the Samsung S9 phone for $400, and on March 24 asked if Desai could bring it over to an address just five minutes away, and even provided his cellphone contact.
Desai went over with the phone at 3.55pm to the supplied address and as he approached the front door, the buyer appeared from behind, examined the phone and even chatted for a while.
‘‘Then he said he was going inside the house to bring the money, and even invited me in, but I didn’t enter the house, and he just didn’t come back,’’ a perplexed Desai told Stuff.
After waiting for about five minutes, Desai rang the man’s number, but there was no answer.
‘‘He answered the phone the third time, and said ‘your phone is gone, brother, hahaha’ and hung up. I just couldn’t believe it,’’ said Desai, who is also production manager at Radio Tarana.
‘‘Straight away I rang the police from that address, and all they asked was whether the man carried firearms, or whether I was hurt. This incident had just happened, I was still at the address, surely the police could have done more than ask about my wellbeing,’’ Desai said.
A police spokesperson said inquiries were ongoing into the incident and ‘‘we have no further update at this stage’’.
‘‘Police are aware of a number of scams taking place when buying and selling online and are urging people to be cautious when it comes to buying goods listed for sale on social media.’’
In an unrelated incident last month, a man whose car broke down in Newmarket had his vehicle stolen by a ‘‘Good Samaritan’’ who stopped to help. Sahil Vohra, 28, a customer service manager in Auckland, said he lost a laptop, charger, cash and passports, which were inside the car when a stranger took off with it at around 9.50pm on March 13.
‘‘My car broke down, and a random guy turned up on an e-scooter claiming to be a mechanic and tried to help start the car,’’ Vohra told Stuff.
‘‘I tried starting it first and it just wouldn’t go, and when this guy tried, the car started, and he just drove away in it.’’
Vohra said he rang the police, but so far his car had not been found. ‘‘I’m devastated, my whole world is shattered, and I don’t know where to go from here.’’
Vohra, who has been living in Auckland for six years, said he
spent most of the night of March 13 roaming the streets as the key to his room was bunched together with the car keys.
‘‘I just hope my car, laptop and passports are found soon.’’
Police are seeking help from witnesses, or anyone who has sighted Vohra’s 2006 Toyota Caldina, registration BYZ598.
‘‘We acknowledge this would have been an upsetting situation for the victim, after the offender approached him under the guise of helping him start his car,’’ a police spokesperson said.
‘‘In this situation the victim did the right thing by not putting his safety at risk by physically intervening, instead he contacted police as soon as he could.’’