Scam victim warns of 'unsettling' trick which conned him out of cash

Ross Gerrie thought he was selling his three iPhones — two iPhone 11 Pros and one iPhone 12 Pro — for £1,650 in cash to a dealer who claimed to be setting up shop in Ipswich.

However, when the buyer left his home in Great Waldingfield on Sunday, May 30, after what appeared to be a successful swap, he realised he had been duped with an envelope full of newspaper wrapped in a £10 note.

The three iPhones stolen in the scam: an iPhone Pro 12 and two iPhone 11 Pros (Image: Ross Gerrie)

"I counted the cash when he came into the house and then he must have switched them," he said.

"It was like a magic trick, really quite savvy and all done in the blink of an eye. I don't know how he did it.

"He asked me to show him out afterwards and I was told by police it's so his fingerprints wouldn't be on the door, you can't help but feel stupid after something like that happens.

"If it can happen to me as someone who runs a phone selling business, then it can happen to anyone and it was only afterwards you start to feel quite unsettled — he was in my house and knows where I live, it's quite scary actually."

Mr Gerrie says if a mobile phone seller like himself can fall victim to this scam, then anyone can (Image: Ross Gerrie)

Mr Gerrie says he nearly checked the envelope once more as the buyer went to leave but he was engaging him in conversation to distract him.

He says police officers actually told him it was a good thing he didn't rumble the scammer — who the victim described as a large and intimidating man — as they're not sure what he might have done in response.

Mr Gerrie was also assured this scam was happening across East Anglia and someone else in his area had been conned on the very same day.

A spokesperson for Suffolk police said: "We’d urge people to remain vigilant to such a scam and anyone who knows who is responsible should contact Suffolk police, quoting crime reference 37/28422/21."