I think I bought a stolen drone.

[Roxann]

I met a guy in a parking lot after contacting him through OfferUp. I asked him for testflight, he accommodated me. It flew and maneuvered well, the pictures look good, as well as the video, it is a mavic air. So, upon payment, I believe his friend swapped it out for another one. I have bought several used drones this way, my first had a damaged camera which was known prior to purchase , thus $100. I got it for "practice" so I wouldn't ruin an expensive new one. Anyway, I got the mavic are home, it doesn't work, and the guy is no longer available at OfferUp My question is, can I attempted to register it to find the owner? If so I don't want to be arrested for receiving stolen property!!! I don't want someone's drone either. If mine gets stolen I would be livid. So

 

[Thomas B]

First, Welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear your bad experience. A hard lesson. Get ID and/or pay through something like PayPal that give you recourse and will reimburse you.

Contact DJI with the question. They have the answer. Consider reporting to your local PD if your suspicions are confirmed. Be careful handling it as latent prints may be there and of use.

 

[BD0G]

I got bit on that Offer Up app as well. Met a guy in front of Kohls. He offered a gift certificate for 147 and some change for half price. I did not go into the Kohls and check the balance as he had a receipt from 10 minutes before showing the balance on the card. Nope. Bad idea. Guy had he cashier print the reciept and then used the entire balance on a purchase and stashed the purchase somewhere before he met me outside. Litterlay 10 minutes had elapsed.

I filed a police report indicating username and Offer Up contact information. No action by police or not able to prosecute. I even tracked his username and asked to meet him related to other items he had for sale. He was going to get more than he bargained for.
He agreed and never showed up. Or he was in the bushes and saw me as the guy he ripped off with the gift card transaction and just scurried off. Offer Up is way sketchy!

So with the Mavic Air. As long as you have a screen grab of the Offer Up advertisement for the Mavic Air you can walk into any police station and indicate that you feel you may be in possession of a stolen item. Show them the way it was purchased and ask for thier assistance with next steps.

Hmmm, its been a while maybe I will do some more fishing for my fraudulent seller. I hate being defrauded.

From my understanding DJI will not release the contact details of a drone that was previously registered to another person. Is there the required FAA Registration Number on the outside of the Mavic ? I kinda know the answer already. Thieves are not going to leave any discernible markings on a stolen drone.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Hmmm, its been a while maybe I will do some more fishing for my fraudulent seller. I hate being defrauded.

Good luck !!

To the OP too, the cheaper selling sites here in Oz are also rife with scammers, electronic fraud, run offs (phones etc), lots of armed vehicle thefts too on test drives, to be stripped for parts to sell.

 

[Thomas B]

Good luck !!

To the OP too, the cheaper selling sites here in Oz are also rife with scammers, electronic fraud, run offs (phones etc), lots of armed vehicle thefts too on test drives, to be stripped for parts to sell.

A sad commentary on our world and the ability to interact constructively with people who have similar values.

 

[Meta4]

So, upon payment, I believe his friend swapped it out for another one. .. Anyway, I got the mavic are home, it doesn't work, and the guy is no longer available at OfferUp
If so I don't want to be arrested for receiving stolen property!!!

Why do you think the drone is stolen?
Sounds like the person they've stolen from was you with a bait and switch.

 

[Kilrah]

Yup, don't see any reason to believe it's stolen, just a scam to get rid of and make money on faulty items.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

A sad commentary on our world and the ability to interact constructively with people who have similar values.

Happens all over it seems too, just happened upon this news item

Man shoots car seller he met through Facebook

Hernando Police Department is looking for a man accused of shooting a man while pretending to buy a car he found on Facebook.

www.wmcactionnews5.com

Marshalls shot this fellow dead trying to arrest him

Prosecutor says man killed by marshals was suspect in DeSoto County shooting; 2nd suspect still on the run

District Attorney John Champion, of the 17th Circuit Court of Mississippi, says Brandon Webber was suspected of shooting a DeSoto County man five times when he met the man to buy a car.

www.wmcactionnews5.com

Apparently the victim shot is recovering ok, thankfully.

 

[JAW]

Put it behind you and consider it a cheap lesson learned.

 

[Drone on]

Related, but not related. Occasionally, I'll sell items on Craigslist. Inevitably, the first six inquires are scams, and they all use the same scam, and I tell them so, then move on.
I need to research YT to look for ways to scam the scammer.

 

[BD0G]

Show up with your penny bottle and pour the contents on the ground and then kneel and start counting. One, Two, Three, Four...

When they say something just give a blank stare and return to counting - Five, Six, Seven...

When they interupt you again say " Hey you are interrupting my count"

Eight , Nine , Ten ....

 

[twoheadlines]

Sorry to read about your bad experience. I'm sure there have been lessons learned!
I can't remember the exact words, so to paraphrase: "You can't be given better title to goods than that which the seller has".
In other words; if the person selling to you has knowledge that the goods do not legally belong to him (her), then the goods can not legally belong to you either, regardless of any money being exchanged!
Good luck.

 

[Campin123]

On this Father’s Day weekend I am reminded of a valuable lesson my Dad taught me when I was young, he said, “Son, you typically get what you pay for in life, be very cautious of good deals, they usually bite you in the end”

Buy from a reputable reseller or better yet buy direct from DJI.

 

[twoheadlines]

For those of you who had Latin drummed into you at school, or have studied law, the term I was looking for: "nemo dat quod non habet" . This means, "no one gives what they don't have". Title to the goods will always remain with the rightful owner. In tort an unknowing (unwitting) purchaser can still be held liable .

 

[Roxann]

Took the Mavic Air to cop shop. They took #'s, info off the drone, did not want the items (the drone, case, remote, charger [that I purchased] extra battery...) Will get back to me if any info found.

 

[BD0G]

Took the Mavic Air to cop shop. They took #'s, info off the drone, did not want the items (the drone, case, remote, charger [that I purchased] extra battery...) Will get back to me if any info found.

Perfect! I commend you for doing the right thing! Now you are protected from anyone claiming you stole thier drone.

 

[Meta4]

Perfect! I commend you for doing the right thing! Now you are protected from anyone claiming you stole thier drone.

Stolen drone? Someone has joined dots that aren't even there.
There was nothing to suggest it was a stolen drone at all.
The OP just got conned with a bait and switch.

 

[Kilrah]

Related, but not related. Occasionally, I'll sell items on Craigslist. Inevitably, the first six inquires are scams, and they all use the same scam, and I tell them so, then move on.
I need to research YT to look for ways to scam the scammer.

Once I just went on as if I was perfectly OK to see what they would come up with. Obviously fake money transfer "confirmations", shipping address in my country although the buyer was supposedly abroad, guy pushing for me to ship now since I got the "confirmations", I just answered "no problem, as soon as the money is on my account I send", they got completely mad that they "sent the money" and I was scamming them by not shipping now etc and started spamming multiple super angry mails in a row... At this point it was getting annoying so I replied "look, your confirmations are fake, so if the money ever hits my account I will ship, but until then if you send me another mail I'm reporting you (obviously no chance) and the person you told me to ship to (much higher chance since local) to the police"... no more mails, and obviously no money either. It didn't take me much time since I was basically replying one liners and it was super fun to see them go all angry and pissed off ?

 

[MinenownowminE]

I met a guy in a parking lot after contacting him through OfferUp. I asked him for testflight, he accommodated me. It flew and maneuvered well, the pictures look good, as well as the video, it is a mavic air. So, upon payment, I believe his friend swapped it out for another one. I have bought several used drones this way, my first had a damaged camera which was known prior to purchase , thus $100. I got it for "practice" so I wouldn't ruin an expensive new one. Anyway, I got the mavic are home, it doesn't work, and the guy is no longer available at OfferUp My question is, can I attempted to register it to find the owner? If so I don't want to be arrested for receiving stolen property!!! I don't want someone's drone either. If mine gets stolen I

 

[MinenownowminE]

Is this the guy?