This weekend, something terrible happened to me: I was the victim of fraud and petty theft after trying to buy a new PlayStation. I was taken for $800, and the incident took only a few minutes. The aftermath since has left me feeling disturbed, distraught, and truthfully depressed.
I took several proactive safety measures, thinking they were sufficient to protect me. But when I opened the box after buying it from a secondary reseller online, there wasn't a PlayStation inside. Instead, there were smashed pieces of cinder block and expired cans of soup. I don't think I've ever felt this stupid.
How did this happen? Let me explain how I, a reasonably intelligent guy, was tricked.
This whole episode has been mortifying, leaving me feeling embarrassed and ashamed, despite being the victim of a serious crime. I'm scared to share this story because I'm sincerely afraid of the potential judgement I'll experience from others (including colleagues, friends and readers.)
But today is Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year. I believe a serious public good can come from sharing what happened so others can learn from my mistakes and it doesn't happen to you or someone else.
I've been trying to buy a PlayStation 5 for myself for over a year. This is a common consumer struggle - it's an infuriatingly in-demand item. After five months of desperately searching and dozens of failed attempts, I finally had a two-day correspondence with a seller in west Stoney Creek, and he agreed to sell me a new PlayStation he bought at a local store the week before.
The Con
He went by the fake name "Rudy" and had set up a completely fake Facebook account, complete with hundreds of friends, pictures, and a life story. He was polite and attentive to our conversation as we agreed on a time and place to meet.
"Rudy" himself suggested, to be safe, we meet at a local plaza in town because the parking lot was a well-lit public place with other people nearby. I agreed, and we met two days later.
I thought I was smart following some common safety tips (which remains good advice):
- Meet in a public, well-lit place.
- Bring a second person.
- Tell someone where you're going.
I was even allowed to hold the product before buying it. (Opening the package to inspect inside before paying isn't permitted when buying things like an unopened video game system - breaking the seal de-values it.)
When we finally met, he didn't look like his profile picture, but he said he'd changed his photo to a friend who'd died recently as a tribute. That's a great cover-up story; I felt guilty for asking such a personal question in the first place, and it discouraged me from asking more questions - a good strategy.
"Rudy" even had the audacity to complete the trade as two witnesses outside the plaza's pizza parlour ate dinner. Even though it was an exciting purchase, this felt like an ordinary Marketplace purchase, like the several I've done before.
Once I held the product, I gave him the cash and used my keyring to break the seal on the PlayStation box to make sure it was in good condition. As soon as he saw me do this, "Rudy" said, "I have to go to work - contact me if there's a problem," and then walked off. Fifteen seconds later, all I found in the box were rocks and expired soup cans. No game system.
Knowing I'd been scammed, I ran around the corner of the plaza where he'd disappeared. But he was gone. All that was left were three customers from the pizza parlour who watched this happen. They laughed and went back to eating their pizza.
Why purchase a new PlayStation from a reseller in the first place?
I'd become exhausted after trying countless times to buy the latest PlayStation the usual way. Anyone who's tried to buy a PlayStation 5 in the year and a half since they first went on sale will tell you a similar story.
Retailers never were able to stock their shelves. There is no waiting list at retailers. You can't order one in advance and wait for it to be available. The hunt to find a PlayStation is now so desperate and manic, businesses dedicated to helping people find stores with availability have popped up nationwide.
It's a lottery system to get one, and that only fuels demand - or in this case, fraud. There's never been a video game console with this level of demand (or this continually plagued with availability issues) in decades, if ever. Yes, PS3 and PS4 were hard to get, but not 15 months after they first went on sale.
Just this morning, GameStop, Canada's largest video game retailer, announced they would be restocking a large number of PlayStation 5 consoles for a Cyber Monday sale. At 10 a.m., it was a first-come-first-serve stampede that crashed the website. Like every other online sale before it, resellers got almost every console for sale.
I've been fruitlessly trying for almost six months to get one directly from Sony or a store - and all of my efforts have failed. And that doesn't include my initial efforts in fall 2020 when the chance first came up.
Even buying one on Marketplace took weeks of effort. I interacted with more than a dozen other sellers, and each deal fell through because someone bought it from them first, or they asked for $300-600 more than the retail value. Can you blame me for being excited when someone finally agreed to sell me one after months of trying?
The Search Continues
Yes, I still want one. In some ways, I want it more now because of the extraordinary time (and now money!) I've already spent trying to get one. Not only do I still want one, I feel horrendously guilty about it, and I feel entitled.
That imposed guilt is one of the residual consequences of being the victim of a crime. I have to keep reminding myself I was a victim of a crime. As a victim, I keep feeling waves of guilt, thinking that getting swindled was my fault or that being enviable and wanting a PlayStation is enough of a reason for me to deserve being robbed. But it isn't.
In the meantime, I'm really grateful for two things: the first being the overwhelming patience, love and understanding from my fiancée in this ordeal. She's been endlessly encouraging and affirming. That's been a big help through this ordeal.
The second is the help of the authorities and police. They have been thorough and patient as they investigate. Despite how badly I feel that such a silly yet hurtful crime happened, not once have they made me feel bad about needing their assistance.
What I've Learned
First, there's a deeper conversation to be had about the ethics of supply and demand for luxury items, and how elitism and money are the powers that further drive and amplify crimes like this in our communities.
More importantly, I'm skeptical of ever using Facebook's Marketplace - or any online sale forum for anything more than a $25 item. If you do this type of transaction, use the Halton Buy and Sell Zone at the police station. If they aren't comfortable meeting there, don't do the sale. Period.
Most of all, however tempting, do not buy luxury items on a secondary market. It is (reluctantly) worth waiting longer to buy the product from an official source to ensure it's real. I was duped for $800, but while processing my police report, they tell me scams for thousands or tens of thousands of dollars are unfortunately common.
There are serious consequences to fraud and theft victims. I always thought my intelligence would keep me safe from being a victim. But, I was wrong. I was restless and couldn't sleep the entire night after this happened - it kept me up for several hours.
Don't make the same mistakes I did. Be safe when shopping this Cyber Monday and throughout this holiday season.
And if you know any stores in the Greater Toronto Area with a PlayStation 5 in stock, please let me know? Even after all this, it's still at the top of my Christmas list.
Author's note: this story contains limited pictures due to the ongoing investigation of this fraud case, as recommended by authorities.
