Boyle Gardaí are investigating an iPhone scam where the victim was defrauded of €500.
On Saturday, January 24th, Gardaí said that a twenty-two-year-old man living in Killala, County Mayo, made contact with a person after seeing an iPhone 14 Pro Max advertised on Facebook Marketplace.
Castlebar was to be the original location to view the phone but this was changed to Boyle at the seller’s request. The purchaser met the seller at Mockmoyne, Boyle, where the ‘iPhone 14 Pro Max’ was produced for inspection.
The phone was in a sealed box and was opened at the request of the purchaser, powered on and looked like an iPhone; €500 cash was then exchanged for the purchase.
On his return home, the purchaser tried to sign into the phone only to discover that the phone was fake and was an android replica in an iPhone skin.
Gardaí in Boyle are seeking to trace the suspect and bring him in for questioning. “Those behind this scam have deceived their victim and defrauded him out of a significant sum of money. We’re warning anyone tempted to buy expensive items like mobile phones from someone they don’t know, to be careful,” said Sergeant Damian Bartley, local Crime Prevention Officer.
Anyone who has been a victim of a counterfeit scam or has any information that could assist with the Boyle investigation are asked to contact their local Garda Station or by calling 999 or 112.
