MacBook Pro Scam Experience

Lali007 wrote:

Posting this as a reminder to be careful when selling electronics—scammers are getting very sophisticated. Stay alert and don’t repeat my mistake.

I think you need to continue paying off your debt, which is really something totally separate from what happened in your private party transaction.

As for those private party transactions, they can go bad in either direction (buyer or seller). Rather than take cash in person (which brings other dangers), safer is to utilize secure electronic services like PayPal, Zelle, Venmo where no cash actually changes hands but the transaction is secure and instant, through a secure and vetted third party, and basically same as cash but without the risk.

In addition to those recommendations, some eBay buyers use one of a handful of different Escrow services. These services hold the money until both sides are satisfied that payment was made (collected by the Escrow service to hold), and goods are delivered as promised.

“If you legitimately owed the money, that would be a good way to get sued, or to have debt collection agencies show up at your door. There could also be negative entries on one’s credit records / negative effects on credit scores that would affect other types of borrowing (like for a home or car).”

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That’s a point and a half. Should have mentioned about having multiple credit cards —with one assigned only to Apple(which has happened to me in the past).

Re: “Avoiding Monthly Payments:

I would expect cancelling your credit card would stop all of this.”

If you legitimately owed the money, that would be a good way to get sued, or to have debt collection agencies show up at your door. There could also be negative entries on one’s credit records / negative effects on credit scores that would affect other types of borrowing (like for a home or car).

Always a good idea to remind others of those types of scams. Also with the holidays approaching and the increase in Gift Card purchases, it is always best to purchase them when the retailer has them secured behind a counter instead of those open racks where they are easily tampered with.

I don't see where there is a difference from the monthly installments of your Mac and if you purchased it outright, in either case the money for the purchase is gone. Not sure if you thought you no longer have to pay for it since you chose monthly installments or if you thought Apple would replace it. I do see it being a painful reminder every time you make the payment and sorry for that.

"MacBook Pro Scam Experience: Lost My MacBook Pro in a Scam — Still Paying EMIs: Sharing this so others are aware. A few months ago, I was scammed while selling my MacBook Pro. The buyers handed me realistic fake cash, took the laptop, and disappeared. I filed a police report immediately, but there has been no update since.[...] Posting this as a reminder to be careful when selling electronics—scammers are getting very sophisticated. Stay alert and don’t repeat my mistake."

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Getting Scammed:

All the more reason to purchase or sell or purchase an Apple device directly from Apple, a retailer, or an AASP (Apple Authorized Service Provider): https://locate.apple.com/

Does the Internet Play and Role in This?:

If so, you can use screenshots as evidence, and track them down by viewing the headers of an eMail, as it travels over the Web. Using the Photos App to Report Scams: - User Tip

"Yes, I bought it directly from Apple on monthly EMI. I wasn’t using it much, so I tried to sell it to cover the EMI and to payoff by adding more money—but I got scammed. Now I’m still paying for it every month, which is really painful."

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Avoiding Monthly Payments:

I would expect cancelling your credit card would stop all of this. You just wouldn't have any official Method of Payment, and, as a result, when subscriptions end, your fee will not go through, and you'd lose items (such as those in iCloud).

ID Theft:

Have a PC? If so, purchasing Security Software such as McAfee, you can get ID Theft coverage. Broker sites containing your info would rid of it from their site. But keep Security Software OFF of your Mac.