Designer César Filho, 30, was surprised to discover that his iPhone 11, purchased in January 2023, through an online buying and selling platform, was a stolen cell phone. He only found out when he was called by the Civil Police of Ceará, through the “Programa Meu Celular”, to provide clarification on the case. The most intriguing thing is that the device belonged to Ezequiel Araújo, a co-worker of César.
The designer received a message on WhatsApp on September 30th of this year, asking him to attend the “Programa Meu Celular” Customer Service Center, in Fortaleza (CE).
César thought it would be a scam, but, upon contacting the police station, he confirmed that the notification was true and that he should present the device’s documents to the police.
At the police station, César had to provide clarification and was informed that the cell phone, an iPhone 11 purchased for R$2,832, had been stolen on December 30, 2022, at Aterro da Praia de Iracema, in Fortaleza. A Police Report (BO) had been registered by the victim at the time. The designer had purchased the cell phone in January 2023.
Despite having proof of purchase, César ended up without his cell phone, so the device could be returned to the true owner.
What made the situation even more curious was the discovery that the owner of the device was a co-worker. After sharing his story with friends, one of them revealed that he had been robbed on the same day as reported by the police.
On social media, César told the story with his co-worker, filmmaker Ezequiel Araújo. In the video, the friend comments that, upon hearing the story, he described what his cell phone looked like, which was stolen, and the two decided to check the smartphone’s registration number.
When they checked the device’s IMEI, they discovered that it was the same cell phone. “I paid for the 2022 Police Report and he also got his. Here’s the IMEI, the iPhone’s registration code. What are the chances of this happening? César, give me my cell phone back”, joked Ezequiel in the video.
In an interview with CNN César commented that, although he felt harmed about the purchase, he was pleased to see the police work.
“I felt injured, but at the same time, I was very happy that the police program was resolving these open police cases. And it serves as a lesson to be even more careful when buying devices in unverified stores”, he concluded.
THE CNN Ezequiel informed that he contacted the Civil Police of Ceará and that he is waiting for a response to get his cell phone back.
This content was originally published in Man buys cell phone and discovers that the device had been stolen from a colleague on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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