Alert tone on smartphones

Gardaí in Ennis are warning people to take care when buying smartphones in cash from sellers they find online.

According to Superintendent Derek Smart, there have been up to five incidents in as many weeks of people in the wider Ennis area arranging to meet sellers in public places, giving them money in exchange for the smartphone, only to later discover it doesn’t work.

“We have had a number of incidents where people are buying iPhones on DoneDeal.ie and other websites, going to meet the sellers, looking at the phone which appears as it should, paying their money and only finding out when they go home that it is a dud phone,” he said.

“We are concerned that other people may have been victims of this scam but may not have come forward to gardaí for various reasons. We are asking people who have been victims of this sort of crime to come forward and report it to gardaí,” he added.

He is calling on people to be especially cautious in the run up to Christmas.

“If people are doing business over the internet they should be aware of this. If someone is presenting a product to you, get them to show you the phone actually working. People are meeting sellers in front of hotels or restaurants, handing over their money and receiving a package, which looks the same as the real thing but it is not. In some cases they are being told the battery is flat only to take it home and find out that the phone is actually a dud,” he said.

“Satisfy yourself that it is actually a working version of the product and if it is not, don’t part with the money,” Superintendent Smart advised.
Gardaí are investigating reported incidents and believe they will find the person or people responsible.