‘OK bro, I’m taking this phone’
A young man who arrived at a Christchurch home on the pretext of buying an iPhone pulled a large knife on a man in front of his wife and small children.
Antony, who did not feel safe giving his last name, wants to send a warning to people about the dangers of online selling after he was attacked and robbed of the $1900 device on Tuesday.
The father-of-two, who works from home selling iPhones and laptops on Facebook Marketplace and Trade Me while taking care of his 3-year-old and baby, is thinking of changing how he runs his business as a result.
It comes months after Canterbury police warned of a spike in Facebook marketplace scams, where criminals were contacting sellers, arranging a time and place to meet, then stealing the item.
Antony, who lives in Burwood, listed the iPhone 13 Pro on Facebook Marketplace and Trade Me and was instantly contacted via Facebook by a woman with the profile Emma Richardson.
She arranged to collect it from his house on Tuesday, eventually arriving at 2.45pm.
A young, brown-haired man wearing a red sweatshirt and sleeveless black jacket, and a young, red-haired woman wearing dark trackpants and a Nike sweatshirt can be seen on movement-activated security video footage as they approached the house wearing medical face masks.
Soon after arriving, while holding the unopened iPhone, the man said ‘‘OK bro, I’m taking this phone’’.
‘‘I told him ‘no you can’t do that’, and suddenly I grabbed onto his hand,’’ Antony said.
The alleged offender then pulled a 30 centimetre knife – ‘‘not your normal kitchen knife’’ – from his pants.
‘‘If he came any closer he could have stabbed me,’’ Antony said.
To stop him lashing out, Antony grabbed the taller man’s knife-wielding hand, as his wife screamed beside him with their two young children.
The young couple then ran away with the iPhone.
Antony said the pair could have been aged anywhere from 15 to mid-20s.
Police came within 10 minutes of being called, but Antony was not confident in the outcome.
He found the phone listed from multiple Facebook accounts for $1500 within 30 minutes of the theft, and gave police the contact details, including an address for the ones currently selling it.
His wife received abusive messages when they inquired about the listing.
‘‘They don’t care about police or anything. They don’t even hide, listing it straight away,’’ Antony said.
A year ago, he had $20,000 worth of iPhones and laptops stolen from his home. He now has insurance.
He managed to recover one of the stolen laptops by searching online listings, matching serial numbers, then collecting it from an address in Southland with help from police.
The best chance of recovering stolen goods was in the first week, he said, ‘‘otherwise it’s gone forever’’.