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If You Buy an iPhone Off Craigslist for Really Cheap in a Dark Alley in a Shady Neighbourhood, You Will Get Mugged
Posted by Matt Buchanan at 4:30 AM on June 14, 2008
And now, a Giz PSA: The iPhone 3G might have dealt a pretty solid blow to the value of a vanilla iPhone, but when you see an offer on Craigslist for a case of 10 iPhones for US$2,000 with a meetup in an isolated part of a shady neighbourhood, it might not be legit!
Tired of yuppy scum and their fruitphones, a bunch of scammers posted bulk cases of iPhones at deep discounts on Craigslist, luring hip grandfathers and yupsters alike to "desolate locations in Flatbush, East Flatbush and Flatlands" in NY. Upon arrival, they were mugged at gunpoint by the gang of four, who stole thousands of dollars from as many as 12 suckers victims before getting busted June 4 by undercover cops. Remember kids, the only legit discounts come from Apple, real iPhones from real people cost real scratch (for now, anyway). [NY Post]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
ipod3gx67
Posted 6:57 AM 14/6/08
then dont go
ipod3gx67
discounteggroll
Posted 6:55 AM 14/6/08
the "undercover cops" were probably just off duty and excited they were getting such a good deal on 10 iPhones when the scam went awry...
thats how I feel most "undercover investigations" turn out anyway
discounteggroll
greggantic
Posted 6:49 AM 14/6/08
@Prototype619: Your right Elmo just happens to be a toy. you=fail
greggantic
PeeZed
Posted 6:42 AM 14/6/08
A case of iPhones? What happened to the gene pool????
PeeZed
KingHater
Posted 6:32 AM 14/6/08
@MonkeySeeMonkeyDo:
In the meantime, you can download third party EDGE-based GPS programs for iPhone 1 that work surprisingly well...particularly for the amount of time the average iPhone user will spend actually using the GPS function.
KingHater
Prototype619
Posted 6:32 AM 14/6/08
greggantic i dont thing its just like that besides i dont think elmo can fire a gun
Prototype619
greggantic
Posted 6:31 AM 14/6/08
its not a tough choice...just go and bring a gun
greggantic
Kaiser-Machead's got LindsayJoy's cookies on the SuperDrive
Posted 6:18 AM 14/6/08
Dang, I was gonna meet up with someone to buy a PS3 with GTA4 in Bedford Stuyvesant for only $200! Decisions decisions...
Kaiser-Machead's got LindsayJoy's cookies on the SuperDrive
92BuickLeSabre
Posted 6:16 AM 14/6/08
@Monty: Wait, the nude house cleaners aren't real?
92BuickLeSabre
visionep
Posted 6:13 AM 14/6/08
@Noobs-R-Us: Yea, because there isn't any crime or scamming in China.
I'm all for harsh punishment, but I think education is really the only defense for crap like this.
Oh yea education takes money and money for education comes from taxes and taxes are Evil so never mind.
visionep
Monty
Posted 6:02 AM 14/6/08
Adding to my list of scams:
...
15984. Emails from a prince.
15985. Nude house cleaner.
15986. Case of iPhones in dark alley.
Monty
Sian
Posted 6:01 AM 14/6/08
And they yet again make the mistake of failed crooks everywhere, getting greedy and stupid and falling into a pattern.
*headshakes*
Sian
92BuickLeSabre
Posted 5:58 AM 14/6/08
@Noobs-R-Us: It's so true. We should absolutely kill four people over $2,000.
We should also "deal with" every CEO, oil & gas executive, and mortgage lender.
Hell screw China, let's go straight to Cambodia circa 1978!
(By the way, everyone, I've got a box of optimus keyboards for cheeeeap. Just email me if you're interested, and I'll provide directions to my warehouse in Central Jersey as well as exactly how many and which unmarked bills you should bring with you.)
92BuickLeSabre
MINI Driver
Posted 5:51 AM 14/6/08
Sounds like natural selection to me - harsh but fair.
If you're stupid enough to show up.......
MINI Driver
Noobs-R-Us
Posted 5:38 AM 14/6/08
This is where I wish we had Chinese laws. These punks would be taken out the back of the courtroom and shot. Flatbush would turn into a model town overnight.
Noobs-R-Us
Chromeo
Posted 5:37 AM 14/6/08
I'll never get that $2000 back will I?
Chromeo
MonkeySeeMonkeyDo
Posted 5:37 AM 14/6/08
@KingHater: I'm with you. Thus far I've heard nothing that makes me want to "upgrade." It seems like a lateral move, really. AGPS and 3G. Big freaking deal. Also, it is plastic. No thanks.
If they had upped the capacity, improved the quality of the camera, etc., maybe. But as of right now, I'm waiting for the next generation, which I hope will have real improvements. I'll be all over then.
MonkeySeeMonkeyDo
Elliuotatar
Posted 5:35 AM 14/6/08
You deserve to get mugged if you respond to a craigslist ad and then don't meet in a very public place like a gas station or a mall in a good section of town.
Elliuotatar
The Turtle
Posted 5:32 AM 14/6/08
The magical disappearing comments!!! Went from 30-something to nine in one page refresh...
The Turtle
genius74
Posted 5:31 AM 14/6/08
@Hiphopopotamus:
LMAO!!!!!!!
You're probably right!
genius74
The Turtle
Posted 5:30 AM 14/6/08
Who the hell needs ten iPhones, anyway?
The Turtle
92BuickLeSabre
Posted 5:29 AM 14/6/08
...may get mugged. may get....
...jeez, why are you all trying to destroy my business model?
92BuickLeSabre
nutbastard
Posted 5:27 AM 14/6/08
@GinnySarpedon:
is that a fair price for WHOM?
nutbastard
CutePuppyz
Posted 5:24 AM 14/6/08
That's horrible. Why would you go anywhere that says "desolate" anyway...there's no such place in the city...
CutePuppyz
justinpe
Posted 5:23 AM 14/6/08
@Bauer22:
Yeah, no matter how big or small your craigslist transaction will be, always meet in a public place. Duh.
justinpe
innout3x3
Posted 5:18 AM 14/6/08
I'm sorry, but I have to laugh at anyone who would fall for a scam like that.
innout3x3
justinpe
Posted 5:16 AM 14/6/08
@KingHater:
The new iPhone is actually lighter than the old one, and it is thinner on the edges, and just slightly thicker in the middle. The overall volume of the phone, however, is less.
I haven't decided if I'm gonna get the new one yet or not. If there are more hardware upgrades announced before July 11th (front cmaera, better MP camera, etc.) it will push me over the edge.
justinpe
MrMaestr0
Posted 5:12 AM 14/6/08
That pretty much goes for anything you find on craigslist.
MrMaestr0
kahri
Posted 5:12 AM 14/6/08
Twelve? What's the "seller feedback" look like?
kahri
Dj75728
Posted 5:10 AM 14/6/08
Man that suxorz. But know the demand for Iphones on craigslist will drop dramatically! Right?
Dj75728
rangle93
Posted 5:10 AM 14/6/08
What fidiot wants 10 Gen 1 iPhones?
rangle93
Bauer22
Posted 5:03 AM 14/6/08
Is it wrong if I laughed at this?
I mean, I dont care if your buying a $1 thing off Craigslist, meet at some popular place like a Burger King or a 7-11. If its something big then bring some friends.... packing guns....or ninjas if you know any...
And now you know! And knowing is half the battle!
Bauer22
Hiphopopotamus
Posted 5:02 AM 14/6/08
@genius74: They probably listed it as East East East Williamsburg
Hiphopopotamus
Franklin Comes Alive!
Posted 4:51 AM 14/6/08
@Wess:
Yup, double post, but it looks like the Gawker comment engine hamsters committed ritualistic mass-suicide today. All the Gawker sites have totally borked comments today.
Franklin Comes Alive!
KingHater
Posted 4:44 AM 14/6/08
The iPhone 3G might have dealt a pretty solid blow to the value of a vanilla iPhone...
Really? Because the more I hear about it - contracts, plans - and with the lack of any real WOW new features, and the added thickness and weight, I've only come to feel more compelled to stick with my first gen.
Plus, the aluminum back panel is just plain better-looking, IMHO.
KingHater
bobdobbs' MBA misses LindsayJoy's MBP
Posted 4:43 AM 14/6/08
This "shady, dark alley" rule doesn't apply to Erotic Services section. Trust me, kids. Go for it!
bobdobbs' MBA misses LindsayJoy's MBP
Franklin Comes Alive!
Posted 4:42 AM 14/6/08
I consider this a form of Darwinism. If you are dumb enough to take a pile of cash to a isolated locations based on an anonymous internet advertisement, to some degree you deserve what you get.
Franklin Comes Alive!
justinpe
Posted 4:38 AM 14/6/08
@Munch:
I thought Robocop 4 and the iPhone 3G were the same thing??
justinpe
Wess
Posted 4:38 AM 14/6/08
I-Phone = U-Pwned
(i hope this didnt double post)
Wess
Boatski
Posted 4:37 AM 14/6/08
Those who fell for it probably learned a good life lesson.
Boatski
Wess
Posted 4:36 AM 14/6/08
I-phone = U-Pwned
Wess
spyz88
Posted 4:36 AM 14/6/08
This wait til July 11th is killing me...
spyz88
spectator101
Posted 4:35 AM 14/6/08
Gee, umm, YA THINK??
spectator101
GinnySarpedon
Posted 4:35 AM 14/6/08
I sold my on craigslist for $325. Is that a fair price?
GinnySarpedon
genius74
Posted 4:34 AM 14/6/08
Flatbush? That's a dead give-away not to go get the phones from there.. Unless you're a Do or Die Bed-Stuy native..
genius74
Munch
Posted 4:34 AM 14/6/08
Where's Robocop 4 when you really need him.
Munch
Ariel_Wollinger
Posted 7:02 AM 14/6/08
@justinpe:
Robocop only has cameras on the front, 2.
Ariel_Wollinger
resource
Posted 8:19 AM 14/6/08
I live in Flatbush and I wouldn't meet there.
Cmon.
You meet in a mall or the Disney Store in Times Square.
I think $200 for an old 8GB iPhone is fair. You cant charge more than the new one...
resource
jncarlos
Posted 9:57 AM 14/6/08
It's a shame, that people have become so desperate to get this CRAPPY phone and risk their lives in situations like this. I mean someone could ve died during this deal its not even funny. To all you I say, snap out of it already. Im just saying.....
jncarlos
outie
Posted 9:56 AM 14/6/08
You would get mugged by peeing in a dark alley in a shady neighborhood, let alone making a transaction there. Isn't it obvious?
outie
dave_1138
Posted 1:34 PM 14/6/08
"a fool and his money will soon be parted"
dave_1138
chasema
Posted 3:26 PM 14/6/08
TWELVE!? Really? C'mon now. I mean really? REALLY!? Really. Really?
chasema
Faxmonkey
Posted 4:09 PM 14/6/08
@resource:
The thing is, if I had 200 dollars and could choose between a used gen1 phone and a brand new gen2 phone (with a contract), there's simply no contest that I'd go with the gen1 phone.
For starters, 200 bucks is 100 dollars cheaper than the Ipod Touch, which would be the same thing minus sim card, bluetooth, and camera. So with no service plan at all, I'm already 100 bucks ahead of the game.
If I *want* a service plan, then I Can get unlimited data for 20 bucks a month with gophone instead of shelling out 70-75$ dollars a month for the 3g phone. Sure the 3g iphone is hot, in the sense that its almost the exact same thing as the original with minor improvements -- but the contract is a deal killer.
Faxmonkey
gadgetplay
Posted 1:44 AM 15/6/08
@visionep: "but I think education is really the only defense for crap like this."
Education does not have to, and arguably should not come from the government. And excessive taxation IS evil.
gadgetplay
BlackFlag55
Posted 2:17 PM 15/6/08
"You can't cure stupid." Ron White
BlackFlag55
skulldriveshaft
Posted 5:35 PM 15/6/08
Remember kids, there's no good judas phones.
skulldriveshaft
HollywoodLeo
Posted 7:49 PM 15/6/08
Funny, I just sold my iPhone through craigslist yesterday...
But I wasn't an idiot like these guys, I met them at CVS--where there's hard core security (sarcastic), if they were going to mug me, they'd be going down... lol.
Actually it was this guy buying it for his girlfriend, she was there, and she was hot.
The whole transaction worked out--They wanted a new iPhone, and that's what I gave them... Earlier that day I went to the Apple store to exchange my iPhone that I had for almost a year. It had a scratch on the screen, about a quarter of an inch long.
I told the helpful genius that my phone was freezing, and that there was a persistent echo during conversations, and that people didn't want to talk to me anymore... lol. He gave me a new one, just like that. Begone scratch.
Sold it, and got enough to be guy the 16G, so twice the space.
Funny, cause the guy that bought it knew about the new 3G, but he wanted the first gen so he can unlock it, since he has another carrier.
That's the good part, now the bad part is living without an iPhone for a month--darn!!
Now I have to use my old RAZR.
I feel so naked!!
P.S. Any of you guys have that echo problem? I started getting it a couple of months ago after the last update. I'm wondering if it's a bug that came with the update, or if it was just my phone...
HollywoodLeo