Comments on: New York Man Sets Online Dating Honey Trap to Recover iPhone

By: T.Blanton

T.Blanton — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 01:56:21 +0000

Malicide….one other thing…yes they do sell it…after due diligence to find the owner and the required wait time has expired. They don’t sell it right after they get it. I believe there is a 30-120 day (depending on state) waiting period.

By: T.Blanton

T.Blanton — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 01:51:24 +0000

Ok malacide…..fact….MOST states have LAWS which state you MUST make an attempt to return found property to owner. In that is says something to the effect of due diligence/reasonable effort….such as contacting police OR lost and found department. Like it or not that is the law. Had the man in this article contacted the police and had them meet the thief….he WOULD have been arrested. Now we can sit and twist and turn this around till the cows come home….the law is the law regardless of how much we don’t like it or how ridiculous it may seem.. I think many of these laws were put on the books back when people still had a sense of right and wrong, morals and common decency…..something we apparently lack these days since people think it is or should be ok to find property that belongs to someone else and keep it.

By: jem

jem — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 00:39:25 +0000

clever way to get back what is yours, but having a thief come to your apartment was not the brightest move. people are mean & who’s to stay he doesn’t watch & wait for you to leave, then steal you blind. just saying… also no matter your age, one should never meet someone from online at their home. come on ppl meet in public where its much safer!!!!

By: Sandra

Sandra — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 18:39:59 +0000

Identity theft IS ILLEGAL. The man that used that cell phone, and hid his OWN identity, was using the identity of the man that actually owns his person, name, etc. THAT identity theft.

By: Eritrean

Eritrean — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 18:09:16 +0000

Micheleinca- I found a wallet once, with a lot of money, debit and credit cards. I got his number on his hospital card and called him. He came and looked in his wallet and said ’40 dollars is taken’.

By: Malicide

Malicide — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 17:50:17 +0000

T.Blanton. Theft of services perhaps, but theft of the phone? Come on! Lets be reasonable. You can’t honestly claim this person “stole” anything. And as far as theft of services, you making the comparison with someone running an extension cord to someone’s house in order to steal electricity is kinda weak. When you sign a cell phone contract you agree to pay for any and all charges made on your phone. Including long distance and data charges. You also agree to notify your provider when your phone is lost. They shut the phone down and and prevent those charges from happening. That’s the agreement that everyone signs with their provider. If you don’t make the call, YOU are negligent for not only losing your phone in the first place, but failing to notify your provider so that those charges don’t occur. It’s the same with a credit card. If you lose your credit card and then fail to notice that you account balance is steadily increasing and then fail to notify your bank, YOU are negligent and obligated to pay back those charges. Granted, you have 60 days to do so, but still. And by the way, cab companies, airlines, restaurants and even the police DO sell those items that are never claimed. They are not obligated to provide a “lost and found”, they do it because it’s good customer service and makes perfect sense to not get a reputation as a heartless greedy company. You can’t define “reasonable effort” any more than anyone else can. Reasonable to you might mean something completely different to someone else. There is absolutely no crime when someone finds a lost item out in a public place. And for all these people wondering why the cops aren’t helping all these idiots who lose their stuff, there’s a perfectly good explanation. THERE WAS NO CRIME! No crime, no cops. Is that so difficult to comprehend people?

By: Carol

Carol — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 16:39:19 +0000

This is funny but it could have been very ver dangerous for both people.

I think they should say it little stronger NOT to try this at all call the police first and let them know what is going on and let them handle it.

By: HammerHisHead

HammerHisHead — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 16:12:53 +0000

I would have beat his head in your a good man for holding back theives should have limbs amputated first offense second offense loose another limb third offense loose all limbs!

By: calvin

calvin — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 15:52:01 +0000

I wish abcnews would remove this article. Nobody gives a ****.

By: T.Blanton

T.Blanton — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 15:31:12 +0000

Malacide- Ok under law that would be theft of services and theft of the phone. He is using another persons phone and account services which do not belong to him and for which he was not given permission to use. That would be like you deciding to run an extension cord to your neighbors house for electricity. You were not given permission to do so and you are stealing services for which someone else pays for. As for the actual phone, many states have laws which say if you find something you must make a reasonable effort to return it to the owner…which is why there are lost and found departments rather than selling departments. Otherwise cab companies, airports restaurants and police stations could just sell what they have found. A reasonable effort to return must be made. Which is why when you turn something found in to the cops the owner has so many days to claim it or it can be given to the “finder”. While I agree when we lose something now days we might as well just write it off, however, that is because of the people who have the finders keepers mentality. Instead of doing the RIGHT thing, they choose to steal instead. It wasn’t always that way, I’m 47 and remember a time when most people chose to do the right thing instead.