Buying and selling through online platforms can be convenient but come with risks, Oak Bay Police remind residents.
In the most recent case, a resident unknowingly purchased a stolen phone through an online listing; the seller disappeared, the listing was deleted and the buyer was left with a device they couldn’t use.
The resident rolled into the police department July 23 after inadvertently purchasing the stolen iPhone from a person named ‘Dan’ for $170 cash outside an Oak Bay cafe.
They found the iPhone SE 64GB on Facebook Marketplace and after the quick meetup for the buy, started setting up the phone, where they encountered a screen indicating the device belonged to a local business.
The phone was brought to the police and later returned to the business. The original online listing had been removed, and no further information about the seller was available.
It was among the 86 calls for service to Oak Bay police July 20 to 27.
