craaaaaapp. lost my mobile phone - FOUND but being ransomed.

[Nebor]

No we do not hand over the money. I usually back away and leave the vicinity with no more than a "Hey WTF are you doing?".
I want to call them a slug and tell them to GTF out of here but as a retained professional I remain expressionless and if need be explain they stole the phone and I am the owner and tell them to call 911 if they care to dispute it.

I am armed but do not display it so....... if you as an untrained individual were to attempt the detail you should size up the perp and situation and abort if it looks to tough for you.

If you call the law they will only tell the police they were returning it for a reward. They usually look for victims that seem very excited about getting their phone back and express gratitude and seem glad to pay.
Its when the victim acts pissed off when they back off. They have nothing to lose and are close to home.

So....... be careful. Most of our clients have lost high end phones with no insurance. What they pay us is less than buying another.

Its an old scam my friend.

You're in the business of entering confrontations to retrieve smart phones for less than the cost of a smartphone? What sort of business is that? It seems the risk involved (seeing as how you're armed, and dealing with scumbags) is pretty high for such low pay. Are you a security firm that's branching out due to a bad economy? How the heck do you advertise this service? Because you sound like hired goons.

 

[robphelan]

i didn't have latitude - i guess that's one of the drawbacks of being a little paranoid about personal info being collected (ironic, eh?).

she has has the phone turned off except for those few minutes when she called yesterday morning.

 

[robphelan]

Why not get a $20 prepaid phone and forward your office number to that? If you meet them in person, I wouldn't go there without law enforcement.

Hope you get it back though. Sucks that there are shitty people like that.

One time I found an iPod that somebody had left in a book/record store I was working at. Fortunately they had Facebook installed on it, so to make sure it got back to its owner, I went in and posted a status update: "This person has left their iPod in <store name>. We have it waiting for you at the front desk. Come in and pick it up with photo ID."

Best of luck to you OP.

i have an old iphone i can use - i just need a new SIM.

however, using my phone is the only way she contacted me. i don't necessarily want to close the only communication channel she may use to contact me.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

i have an old iphone i can use - i just need a new SIM.

however, using my phone is the only way she contacted me. i don't necessarily want to close the only communication channel she may use to contact me.

write it off and be done with it. You'll never see it again. Make sure the cops have the serial number and it is reported as stolen. Contact your provider and tell them. The best you can hope for is it shows up at a pawn shop. They'll run the serial and if it comes back as stolen they'll get the person.

That is your best outcome.

 

[robphelan]

If i don't get a call today, I'm going to write it off and have AT&T cancel that phone.

I"ve already reported it stolen and the cops have the IMEI

on the plus side, i'm learning the hell out of skype.

 

[alkemyst]

never give a worthless check to someone, that is a crime in and of itself.

 

[corkyg]

Had you terminated that phone's activation immediately, "she" (Peggy?) would have had to contact you on another phone which could provide a clue. In the meantime, terminate that phone so they don't make overseas calls on your nickel.

 

[Binky]

I don't understand why you're so resistant to giving her a few bucks to get your phone back. Send her a text messaging asking where she can meet you, and how much she would like as a "reward." (don't put it in quotes in the text message!)

 

[Oyeve]

well, i definitely sounded eager to get my phone back. the thing that sucks is i won't be in the office - that's the number she called me on. she had called my wife first, hopefully she'll call her when I can't be reached.

Can you check your office VM remotely? Maybe she left a call back number or a message.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I don't understand why you're so resistant to giving her a few bucks to get your phone back. Send her a text messaging asking where she can meet you, and how much she would like as a "reward." (don't put it in quotes in the text message!)

cuz people asking for rewards are probably low lifers on welfare to begin with? you wouldn't ask for a reward if you were a decent guy. it just comes to you naturally for being the good guy. ive been in too many instances where we found phones and we called to return them. maybe it's because i live in silicon valley where everyone else has nice phones and its pretty much engineer to engineer here, and we dont' do shady shit.

 

[jpeyton]

cuz people asking for rewards are probably low lifers on welfare to begin with? you wouldn't ask for a reward if you were a decent guy. it just comes to you naturally for being the good guy. ive been in too many instances where we found phones and we called to return them. maybe it's because i live in silicon valley where everyone else has nice phones and its pretty much engineer to engineer here, and we dont' do shady shit.

From a financial standpoint, it's much cheaper to offer a small reward (or at least make that implication) versus buying a phone off-contract.

And if the OP didn't care about finances, why bother going through all this trouble in the first place? Transfer your service to a new SIM card, get another phone and move on with your life; lesson learned.

 

[robphelan]

i had planned on giving the person some money as a thank you, but it really, really rubbed me the wrong way when they 'asked' for it for 'being a good Samaritan'.

also, she never gave me the chance to hand over any money - she simply never called back.

she has the phone off so I can't text her saying i'll give her a reward - she only turned it on briefly to call me.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

From a financial standpoint, it's much cheaper to offer a small reward (or at least make that implication) versus buying a phone off-contract.

And if the OP didn't care about finances, why bother going through all this trouble in the first place? Transfer your service to a new SIM card, get another phone and move on with your life; lesson learned.

So what am I supposed to do if I lose my unlocked Nexus S right now? How do I get another flagship phone? I'd need to spend at least $400 for a midrange single core 1ghz phone right now. Let's say I buy an Incredible S 850/1900 which runs for $430, or the $439 Nexus S to replace my phone.

You can argue that it takes 1 hr for him to drive out, but why should he do that AND then fork out another reward? You'll eagerly slap health care providers for being "for profit," but when it comes to phones, you'll want a profit too? Sorry, I'll gladly return any phone if it's no more than a 10 min way out of my path to work. Or they can meet me nearby for no cost.

 

[Binky]

That's an admirable position Dlerium, but if you try to apply your values to other people, you are headed for major disappointments in life. Most people suck. I would just pay the reward/ransom and consider myself lucky that the person returned my phone.

 

[jpeyton]

So what am I supposed to do if I lose my unlocked Nexus S right now? How do I get another flagship phone? I'd need to spend at least $400 for a midrange single core 1ghz phone right now. Let's say I buy an Incredible S 850/1900 which runs for $430, or the $439 Nexus S to replace my phone.

You can argue that it takes 1 hr for him to drive out, but why should he do that AND then fork out another reward? You'll eagerly slap health care providers for being "for profit," but when it comes to phones, you'll want a profit too? Sorry, I'll gladly return any phone if it's no more than a 10 min way out of my path to work. Or they can meet me nearby for no cost.

Re-read what I wrote. I said "from a financial standpoint".

From a moral standpoint, asking for a reward may or may not be despicable to you. The same goes for offering a reward.

But paying a small reward might have saved the OP a couple hundred dollars. Or at the very least, imply that you'll pay the reward just to get your hands on the phone again.

Social engineering is a valuable tool. From the OP's original conversation with the woman who found the phone, he should have gathered that she had zero interest in being a good Samaritan. Once that was established, the OP should have offered her the path of least resistance; be overly kind, thankful, and willing to agree to anything in order to get face-to-face with the phone again. Whether or not you actually pay a reward after you get the phone in your hands is up to you.

BTW, I can pick up a new (or mint) Nexus S for $250, which is roughly what I paid for my Atrix 4G off-contract. The OP should browse FS/FT or Craigslist for a phone. Buying off-contract phones directly from retailers is a bad idea.

 

[Oyeve]

You do realize that your battery in that phone is now dead and she will not be calling you from her personal # right?

 

[tommo123]

I'd be so fucked if someone got a hold of my phone. This is why I use Seal (free on amazon today) and i use Seek Droid so I can remote wipe both the phone and the SD card remotely.

if i had found it, i'd have taken out the sd card. plus the data would be easily recoverable.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

i think the lesson from this is that, if you want your phone, be willing to offer a bounty for it upfront.

that woman is probably reading this thread and laughing at him at this point

 

[robphelan]

i think the lesson from this is that, if you want your phone, be willing to offer a bounty for it upfront.

that woman is probably reading this thread and laughing at him at this point

i thought of that.. but she seemed so low class on the phone that I doubt she woudl even know how to google search.

i was open to paying something - especially before she asked.. but she never called back to confirm a time/place, so she wound up making the choice NOT to collect on the money, but rather just plain steal the phone.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

she probably though that if you were a little cold to giving the reward she asked for that you might get the police involved and now shes afraid to sell it back to you

 

[2therock]

You're in the business of entering confrontations to retrieve smart phones for less than the cost of a smartphone? What sort of business is that? It seems the risk involved (seeing as how you're armed, and dealing with scumbags) is pretty high for such low pay. Are you a security firm that's branching out due to a bad economy? How the heck do you advertise this service? Because you sound like hired goons.

Always a smart a$$ sitting around looking to nit pick someones post apart to make himself feel clever. I charge $85.00 and hour to get a $600.00 phone with important information back to a client. I have never had to go more than an hour.
The business is Private investigations and if you think all we do is trail dumb a$$'s blow hards like yourself think again.

Are you mad? Good!

 

[Nebor]

Always a smart a$$ sitting around looking to nit pick someones post apart to make himself feel clever. I charge $85.00 and hour to get a $600.00 phone with important information back to a client. I have never had to go more than an hour.
The business is Private investigations and if you think all we do is trail dumb a$$'s blow hards like yourself think again.

Are you mad? Good!

Easy there Dick Tracy, all I was saying is that I don't think it sounds like you're charging enough money for the risks you're taking.

So you're quick tempered and cheap, just the kind of guy someone wants when discretion and privacy is the name of the game.

 

[Strk]

i thought of that.. but she seemed so low class on the phone that I doubt she woudl even know how to google search.

i was open to paying something - especially before she asked.. but she never called back to confirm a time/place, so she wound up making the choice NOT to collect on the money, but rather just plain steal the phone.

The fact that she took the phone in the first place would have be reason enough to make me hesitant.

I've worked in retail and have had people come up to me and ask for managers to turn in items they've found.

 

[prism]

Easy there Dick Tracy, all I was saying is that I don't think it sounds like you're charging enough money for the risks you're taking.

So you're quick tempered and cheap, just the kind of guy someone wants when discretion and privacy is the name of the game.

I wish private detectives were as cool in real life as they were in 70s-80s TV shows

 

[2therock]

Quick tempered? I call the like I see them so if the shoe fits. You asked for it,read your post. You blab and flap your yap about something you know nothing about.
If you call $85.00 an hour cheap then bring it. There is no discretion mandated here.

You called me out remember, goons? I bet if we were face to face speaking to a stranger you would word that much differently. You sit all safe and sound behind a keyboard and yammer.

Advertize a phone retrieval service? They come to us in droves with all kinds of requests form to child abduction to airplanes.

@prism, Heh, So do I, PI's are nothing like the old TV shows believe me. We joke about it all the time. We have our fun and see some amazing things, and in my years I have never met one that has had to draw his firearm during a case.
As far as like the TV shows, they get hit on the head too much for me to wish for that. And we are rarely, if never seen. They never know we were there until the court date.