A duped woman was in shock when she realised the two iPhones she’d bought from an online seller were made of clay.
The 36-year-old businesswoman had seen the pair of iPhone 15 Pro Max’s for sale on a social media marketplace.
She’d contacted the seller and the two had arranged to meet to complete the transaction.
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She told local media he’d seemed trustworthy, as reported on Need To Know.
She said: “He gave his home address, he was constantly posting his face all over the internet.
“So, to me, it was very clear that everything was genuine.”
She and her husband went to his home in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
The three chatted normally for a short while, but when the woman tried to open the iPhone boxes, the seller allegedly threatened her.
She recalled: “He said, ‘You’re not going to open it, the gun is at my waist. No need to be suspicious, everything’s fine, the phones are there.’
“I couldn’t see what was in his waist, but I wasn’t going to pay to find out.”
She immediately transferred him 13,000 BRL (£2,000) as he demanded and he then left the scene by car.
When she and her husband opened the boxes, they found the fake clay phones.
She recalled: “I called the police, the bank. I tried to cancel the transaction, but it didn’t work because he had already withdrawn the money from the account.”
The woman says the suspect later threatened her and her family.
So she was relieved when she heard he’d been arrested in Belo Horizonte on Thursday (25 Apr).
According to the police, he is a 31-year-old influencer with nearly 300,000 social media followers.
He is denying guilt, but the police say there’s evidence he committed extortion aggravated by the use of a firearm.
The woman said: “I’d never seen anything like it in my life. The box was impeccable, brand new, sealed.
“I was frozen, in shock, at that moment. My husband and I were baffled by the creativity of the crime.”
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