Craigslist Scammer (Macbook Air)
 

Just a little before Christmas, I was browsing through Craigslist trying to find a Macbook Air to gift. I met up with a gentleman who had advertised a 10/10 2013 Macbook Air with Apple Care for a reasonable price.

Upon meeting him in Coquitlam, I had inspected the laptop and everything visually looked fine as did the external condition. I tested all the keys and examined the battery specs. Lastly, I confirmed the serial number to ensure that it did indeed have valid Apple Care on the device.

After purchasing it, I happened to be going to a shopping mall that had an Apple Store in it so I went in to have the computer inspected for an issues. I was quickly told that the computer's warranty had been deemed invalid due to liquid damage. Obviously a shock to me, I inquired more about the liquid damage accusation/claim the Apple Store was trying to pin on me. We quickly realized that the original owner had come in just a week or so before and had dropped the computer off as it was completely malfunctioning. Apple deemed it to be damaged by liquid and quoted him nearly $1100 to fix/replace the hard drive, logic board, etc.

I called the seller back and he tried to lie about it for a bit and seemed to be pretty agitated. First he told me that Apple was making a mistake in saying there was liquid damage. Then he told me the previous owner may have damaged it despite assuring me he was the one and only owner. Eventually when I reminded him about the little make-shift document I drafted up and had him sign, he got a little scared. I guess he didn't realize that the document he signed only stated that he transferred ownership to me of the laptop and not that he provided me with any stated or implied warranty of terms. He admitted to spilling water on the laptop and knowingly selling me a water-damaged laptop. He offered to refund my money which he did and I returned the product to him.

There's nothing wrong with selling a computer that has had water spilt on it, so long as the buyer is aware that he is buying a computer that has an invalidated warranty due to the spill and that he/she isn't expecting that they are purchasing a valid Apple Care warranty along with the laptop.

The next day he went back on to Craigslist trying to sell the SAME laptop with the SAME 10/10 description. I made a Craigslist post warning other buyers of his scamming ways and he immediately called me and was furious that I would do such a thing. The guy who was trying to scam other people during the holidays was repeatedly telling me how I was scum and a bottom-feeder lol.

I got lucky, the next buyer might not. So here we are:


Buyers Beware, there is a seller from Coquitlam trying to sell a MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2013)
with Apple Care and advertises it as a mint condition computer.

Keep an eye out for Macbook Air with Serial Number: C02L31LEFLCG.
Comes with AppleCare Protection Plan; Expiration Date: July 29, 2016.

Seller's real name is Chris Hamon but uses an alias when you meet him.
Seller's phone number is: 778-872-6759.

Originally selling in Coquitlam but has now moved on to posting in Vancouver.

Best way to avoid being scammed by this guy is checking the serial number for any 2013 Macbook Air 13" that you are about to buy!

I just owned him for you ����

Glad things worked out for you, but if I was buying any Apple product, I'd probably meet at an Apple store to verify the serial code of the product.

At that point, unless I had asked for repair history, I would've gotten the same information @ apple as I would've when I searched the serial online for confirmation. I did however make the next transaction @ an Apple Store and was helped by the staff to ensure I wasn't getting hustled.

wow I'm surprised he actually answered your call AND refunded you your money

most scammers would've done the opposite lol

is someone going to call his dean?

I'm 99% certain it wouldn't have ended up in my favour had he not already known that I am an attorney and had he not assumed that the document he signed was a legal contract warranting the condition of the computer and guaranteeing a valid Apple Care.

You should've seen this contract though lol. It was the biggest playschool stuff I could come up with. HAND written on the back of an invoice from the tile store lol.

Attorney buying 2013 macbook air off clist to gift?....

did you even turn on the laptop at the meet? or it was working fine even with all that liquid damage?

What kind of info did you get from him in that document? I assumed more than just a signature?

Talk about lucky he gave you your money back, I've heard so many stories of people getting scammed and never hearing from them again.

+1 meeting at apple store at least they would able to tell you the warrantly status of the products.

Also curious what were the "contract details" parm :lol

Pics of this "contract"

motherfuck dre
motherfuck snoop
motherfuck DEATH ROW

I wonder how many calls he got regarding his ad in the M4M section before it was flagged BrokeBack

TIL never try to scam a lawyer :badpokerface:. Good thing you had it checked up upon early after your purchase + apple kept a history with the other guy, otherwise you wouldve been SOL

Number is no longer in service, looks like he changed it

This is great. Any suggestions for some boilerplate RS'ers could use to protect themselves in the future?

inb4 contract signed was in crayon

This guy has some fucking nerve , holy shit.

Yea, it says in my original post I checked out the battery stats (by going into the computers configuration menus) and tested each and every key to make sure it didn't miss any keystrokes.


The last time he phoned me crying about the craigslist ad I made online, I hung up on him, 3-way'd a friend and had him record the remainder of the conversation. He proceeded to tell me how he wasn't going to be able to sell his laptop now and he might as well "throw it in the ocean." He wasn't too happy when I told him not to throw the laptop in the ocean but to instead gift it to me lol.

I should add that I also got an EXTRA $50 out of him. Told him I would go to the police and report him for fraud and that he owes me for my opportunity cost. I literally profited that night (even though I had to drive out to Coquitlam).

As for the smart comment about why an attorney is buying a 2013 Macbook Air on Craigslist...Your comment is somewhat rude and based on assumptions. Just because I work in the legal field doesn't mean I'm rich. If I am rich, doesn't mean I would spend my money frivolously. And I'm gifting a $1500 computer for Christmas within my family. I'm being a smart shopper. Regardless of my occupation or my personal wealth, I will 9/10 look on RevScene and Craigslist to find the best possible deal. Having wealth isn't about how much you make it's about how much you end up keeping in your pocket.

I will check my Whatsapp groups to see if I still have the photo of this K in there still lol. When I made the initial K, I was more concerned with him saying the laptop got stolen after I purchased it and having the warranty become voided. So the K stated that he was transferring ownership of the laptop (with the serial number and physical description) of it), on what date, and that it included a warranty (Apple Care) until X date. Had him sign it and I signed it.

so it was working fine despite needing

wouldnt such an issue be evident when you turned on the computer and tried to use it? im not a computer or legal expert im just curious

Clearly in this case it wasn't evident. The computer was working fine as I inspected. Perhaps long-term usage, the device may have show signs of defects but in the half hour I spent inspecting the device and going through everything, it was perfectly fine.

If the computer is dried out properly, it's possible for it to still work. Doesn't mean it doesn't have liquid damage anymore. It works but it's still deemed to be a liquid damaged device as it will indicate from the inside through visual inspection.