Con artist peddles fake laptops

A con artist is preying on local shoppers by selling fraudulent laptops, according to a Columbia Police Department news release.

The man, who is described as a 5-foot-11-inch man in his thirties with two gold front teeth, has already swindled two Columbia residents, possibly more, the news release stated.

On Sept. 19, a man approached a 22-year-old woman while she was pumping gas at the Petro Mart on East St. Charles Road, asking if she wanted to buy a laptop computer. According to a news release, the man said the computer was one of three left behind in a delivery truck, and that he was the driver.

The man gave her the price of $300 for the computer, but she refused. The two eventually negotiated a price of $100.

According to the news release, the man handed her a sealed FedEx box and left. When the woman got home, she found the laptop she thought she had purchased was merely a block of wood with a mock price tag on it.

The Columbia Police Department advised people to refer to the age-old saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

CPD spokeswoman Jessie Haden said to avoid offers that seem shady.

“People get intimidated by these fast-talking and sometimes aggressive con artists,” Jessie Haden said. “If it seems shady at all, don’t be afraid to call for help or to simply say no.”

On Sept. 21, the suspect struck again at the Walmart on West Broadway.

According to the news release, the man approached a 21-year-old male as he left the Walmart. The suspect offered to sell a computer the suspect claimed was left in his wife’s office by a deliveryman.

Haden said the man originally declined the offer to purchase the laptop.

“Con artists aren’t typically the type of criminals that will harm you,” she said. “Their weapon is their mouth, and all you have to do is say no to disarm them.”

The victim eventually purchased the computer when the suspect told him he would sell it for $110.

According to the news release, the suspect advised the victim to take a look inside the box to make sure everything that was agreed upon was present. The man partially opened up the box to reveal what appeared to be a blue laptop, and a power cord.

When the victim arrived at home, he found the computer was, again, a block of wood, only this time it had been covered in blue masking tape to give the illusion of a laptop, the news release stated. The cord he saw was simply a cut extension cord placed inside the box, which was submitted to police as evidence.

The only lead police have is the short description of the suspect. Haden said it is unlikely that CPD will catch the suspect.

“It’s likely that he isn’t from Columbia,” she said. “Con artists usually blow into town, run their scam and leave.”

Haden said police are doing their best in tracking down the suspect.

“We contacted Walmart for their surveillance tapes and we plan to do the same for Petro Mart,” she said. “It’s all dependent on whether the tapes caught him or his vehicle, and whether they give an identifiable angle of the suspect.”

Haden said none of the victims could be reimbursed if the man isn’t caught.

“It’s not a function of our department to reimburse fraud,” she said.