We’re Branding This One A Scam

I’m looking for a used phone on a social media marketplace. It’s a temporary replacement until payday, so I’m not looking for anything fancy. I find one simply listed as “[Brand] phone – $50”. It has a picture of the phone, but nothing that states the model, year, operating system, condition, or even size of the phone. From the picture, I can’t see any cracks or cosmetic damage, so I decide to message the seller for more information.

Me: “Hello! I saw your listing and was hoping to find out the generation and condition?”

Seller: “[Brand].”

Me: “Yes, I see it’s a [Brand]. What kind is it, though? A [top-tier model]? A [lower-tier model]? How old is the phone?”

Seller: “You wanna buy it?”

Me: “I’m interested. If I can get some more information…?”

The seller then calls me via the chatting/selling app. I get a creepy gut feeling and don’t answer. Once he hangs up, I message him through our conversation.

Me: “I’d like some more information before I call. I know it’s a [Brand], but what kind?”

As I am typing my next message, the seller calls again. He calls twice more. At this point, I’ve decided I’m no longer interested. He sends me a large emoji of a thumbs up.

Seller: “You want the phone or not?”

Me: “Not anymore. I was hoping to find out more information before I decided whether or not to buy, but it’s no longer necessary. Thank you for your time.”

He calls again, but this time he leaves a voice message.

Seller: *Static, shuffling* “Bruh! You want this phone or not? It ain’t that hard! So, you gonna buy it today? Where you wanna meet up?” *Pauses and smacks lips* “Man! I ain’t got time for this! You want it or nah?!” *Click*

At this point, I decided my gut feeling was right and I was scared. I blocked the seller before he could call or message me again. The next day, my boyfriend found a great deal on two used phones that ended up being upgrades for both of us.