Heard from someone who has my stolen bike

[free4now]

I posted a little while about whether to report the theft of my stolen bike to insurance, but there's a new development:

I had posted on craigslist about my $1400 stolen bike, and written that I will offer a generous reward for info leading to its safe return. I just got an email saying:

[edits in square brackets are mine]

i saw your posting for the stolen [bike model] and i have your bike. i honestly did not steal your bike i just bought it from the flea market today. the serial on the bike match the one you have posted. i know what it feels like to get a bike stolen so thats why i am willing to give it back to you. i honestly paid 490 for it and i was originally going to keep the bike for myself but since it was stolen i would rather return it to its owner. i can meet up with you in [location removed] and once again im just trying to help someone out.

It seems obvious that I should pursue this, although given that my renters and credit card insurance might cover the loss in full, I'm frankly not real excited about doing so. My ex-girlfriend had a story about someone who wanted to sleep with her in exchange for return of her stolen bike, so my guard is definitely up.

There are some red flags, like the lack of capitalization and the return email address not having a full name, just a first name and an initial, but this could very well be legit.

I'm going to sleep on it and probably contact this person on Monday. Any advice is welcome.

 

[W2R]

Take someone with you or alternately, tell someone where you are going and meet at a crowded public location. Make sure you are not followed and be careful, OK?

If this person expects you to bring a generous reward, they might want to relieve you of that cash even with no bike.

Glad to hear that this might have a good outcome.

 

[TooFrugal]

I would take the email to the police and let them advise you. If it is a scam it may be one they are aware of.

 

[Dimsumkid]

A couple of things come to mind. If you filed a police report, anyone, including yourself, that's caught with this bike can be found in posession of stolen property. If you tell your insurance about the bike, they will most likely consider your case closed. If you tell the police, I'm sure they'd prosecute this person with possession of stolen goods. Who knows if this really was an innocent person buying the bike by mistake? I think most people paying $490 for a bike at a flea market pretty much knows the value of this bike was much higher and it was probably stolen. I'm not sure I'd do this swap without some people there backing me up or having the police deal with it instead.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I would bet this is a scam, too. Good idea of TooFrugal's to run it by the police.

 

[bbbamI]

I would take the email to the police and let them advise you. If it is a scam it may be one they are aware of.

Ditto. Please report this to the police. CID (Criminal Investigation Division) should handle this. Do not meet this person on your own.

(I'm no expert, but I was a volunteer cop for 9 1/2 years)

 

[Sue J]

If you could get a police officer (in street clothes) to go along with you this could be very interesting.

I agree that you should not meet this person on your own.

Don't be surprised if you get emails from more than one person saying that they also have your bike and just want to do the right thing.

 

[kramer]

Sounds legit to me as it does not make sense as a scam. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Meet in a public place. After getting the bike back, find out more about exactly where he got it. Ask if he would add the information to the police report.

If someone were shopping for a bike like he/she was, it would make sense that they would be perusing the ads where your reward post was posted.

If he helps with the investigation and gives you your bike back, I would increase the reward to him, although for sure not to 490.

Also, peruse the ads for people that offered rewards before. Email them right away (or call) and find out if they received any scammer emails or calls like this.

I went to Stanford and bike theft was literally an epidemic. I used to say that if education were the answer, there would not be a crime wave on campus Even though I never had a bike stolen, I would have chased down and severely beaten any bike thief I caught and I would not mind bringing back the justice that used to go to horse thieves . . . so also look at this as an opportunity to further the investigation.

 

[free4now]

I think my main dilemna is whether to get the police involved. The theft occurred on National Park property (SF Presidio), and the NPS officer who took my police report was much more interested and thorough than an SFPD officer would have been, spending an hour or so talking with me and investigating whether the store had surveillance video or whether anyone had seen anything (negative). He said that bike thefts in that area are rare, so this is actually interesting to him. But he probably can't travel to the suggested meeting location a half hour or so away, in another city.

If this guy is really sincere I wouldn't want to get the police involved. I'm sure he's aware that he is in possession of stolen property and karmically I want to reward good behavior (returning the bike) even if purchasing it was morally questionable.

I think my steps are to contact this guy by phone and suss out what he wants in return (if anything). If he demands anything then probably get the police involved, if not then perhaps go with a friend to pick up the bike in a safe place with a small but generous reward.

I think I will also place a fake "my bike was stolen" notice on craigslist for another bike and see if I get a similar reply.

I don't think I could be charged with possession of stolen property for getting my own bike back; the police report has my drivers license number on it. Of course police can charge anyone with anything regardless of whether the act actually occurred, but I can't imagine they would want the paperwork. It'd be a good idea to bring my receipt for the bike to the meeting.

 

[free4now]

Also, peruse the ads for people that offered rewards before. Email them right away (or call) and find out if they received any scammer emails or calls like this.

Brilliant! I'll do that right away.

 

[BigNick]

I suppose that it's just possible that the person could have legitimately bought the bike, but in that case he will probably be expecting you to cover him for the $490. That would be an embarrassing situation for you anyway. And other explanations, such that he saw your ad and knows that you can afford a $1400 bike, are more plausible.

If I was in the situation which the "buyer" of the bike is claiming, and I decided that I really wanted to avoid being in possession of stolen property, I would probably take the bike to the nearest police station and tell them what happened.

In your place, I would contact the cops and ask if they could provide me with some plainclothes backup. They might say no, but if you can convince them that there's an 80% chance that it's a scam, perhaps you might be able to tempt a cop with the chance of a red-handed arrest.

 

[Gumby]

Why not just arrange to meet him at the police station? If he is legit, he won't mind.

 

[travelover]

Pay a bouncer $100 to go with you, but stay out of sight. When the bike shows up, have him step forward and take it.

 

[Walt34]

To this ex cop this sounds like a scam.

Ask the police to go with you. Depending on workload this may or may not be possible.

When I was on the road I would have done it, but would only have given about a 30-minute window for it, and that conditional on there being nothing more immediately pressing at the time. Of course Murphy's Law dictates that there will be a gasoline tanker crashing into a passenger bus ten minutes before the scheduled meeting two blocks away.

Alternatively, ask the guy to meet you at a police station. If he's legit, he'll show. If not, you have your answer.

DO NOT, under any circumstances, meet with this guy alone.

 

[free4now]

I've heard lots of advice not to meet with this person, but frankly I can't see why not. I just sent an email saying

That's great news. Your honesty is commendable. I would be happy to offer a $100 reward for the safe return of the bike. I could meet you in [suggested area] in a safe location, ideally a [train] stop. Please give me a phone number and/or call me at [number removed] cell and we will get this sorted out. This means a lot to me that you are doing the right thing.

I can't see how meeting with this person would be any more dangerous buying a $100 item with cash off craigslist, which I've done multiple times successfully. Especially because I'm super on-guard this time.

 

[Martha]

Probably too late to the discussion but I agree with those who said meet at the police station. He shouldn't care; in fact if he is legit he should want to make his own police report as he was ripped off too.

If I was him I would want to go to the police with you.

Smells like ransom to me.

 

[travelover]

This person is not going to give you the bike for $100, even if they are legit. They will expect at least their money back. Take the advice from the ex police here - they know how low humanity can sink.

 

[Curly]

Do NOT meet this person alone - I would only meet him at a police station. You have nothing to gain (you have insurance for the theft), and a lot to lose, by meeting him alone.

Oh... and one other thing... don't give him any more personal information, i.e. phone number.

It's too late now, but it would have been wise to not have given out the full serial number of the bike. It's too easy for someone to claim that they have a bike with that number. It would be better give out the number with the exception of the last two digits, then it's up to the person who claims to have the bike to give you these numbers, proving they have the bike.

 

[calmloki]

Hmm. Given the way the note is written Karnac says the writer doesn't have the bike and is just jealous of someone who can have a nice toy like that. The writer is trolling and enjoying pretending to have $490 to spend at a flea market and the thought of sending Richie Rich on a wild goose chase. My odds are on a no-show, with perhaps a followup note explaining why and setting a new location.

*Honestly* two times says not even honestly to me.

 

[Curly]

Hmm. Given the way the note is written Karnac says the writer doesn't have the bike and is just jealous of someone who can have a nice toy like that. The writer is trolling and enjoying pretending to have $490 to spend at a flea market and the thought of sending Richie Rich on a wild goose chase. My odds are on a no-show, with perhaps a followup note explaining why and setting a new location.

Precisely correct. This wannabe bike thief sure isn't going in the hole for $390 just to be a good guy for you. But, on the other hand, IF he is legit, he will be glad to fill out his police report, at the police station, describing how he got ripped off at the flea market.

 

[REWahoo]

Why not ask him to email you a photo of the bike, including a close-up of the serial#? That way you could confirm he actually has your bike.

I suspect there will be an excuse as to why he can't do so - no digital camera, etc. If you don't get photo confirmation I wouldn't spend another second fooling with this scam artist.

 

[dex]

The part that seems fishy to me is the $490 price said to be paid at a flea market. It just seems too high. If it was from a flea market the posted price would be about $650 - haggling get it down to the $490. For a used bike it just feels too high to me - especially if the flea market seller was the thief or selling it for the thief. Also, who carries so much money to a flea market - either they paid with a check or credit card so, the transaction would be traceable.
As others have suggested - ask other people who posted a reward for a bike if it was a scam.
Ask the police what to do.
It would be great if the police would come with you to meet the person offering the bike to you.
If you can get a phone number out of the guy, you could do a reverse phone # look up and it would be helpful if he was a no show as others suggested.
Please let us know what happens.

 

[Avalon]

I'm anxious to see how this works out. Like you, my first hope would be that I've run across someone wanting to do the right thing. My gut feeling is that this guy is trying to sell your bike back to you. Like the others have said, don't do this alone. Have some backup with you.

 

[haha]

Have some backup with you.

Geat idea; borrowing form Wahoo, take some chick who will expose her breasts then while the alleged miscreant is ogling her chest, grab your bike and anything else lying around loose and get the hell out of there!

Ha

 

[BigNick]

I've heard lots of advice not to meet with this person, but frankly I can't see why not.

Well, suppose his mail had said "Hey, I stole your bike. Come and try and take it off me." I'm guessing that you wouldn't go and meet him then.

So, we've established that the difference between you meeting him and you not meeting him, is his choice of words when composing his e-mail.

If that's good enough for you, fine.

When you get back from the meeting, I have a fine deal on a prime Florida construction site for you. I could have said "swampland" there, but I didn't, so you know you're not risking anything.