Two women paid $300 for what they thought were two laptops, but they found a piece of metal covered in silver duct tape with a paper Apple logo inside the boxes.
VICTORVILLE — A mother and daughter were scammed out of what they thought were a good pair of laptops after opening the boxes they bought from a couple of men in a gas station parking lot and found pieces of metal covered in duct tape.
The mother and daughter told the Daily Press that they were at the Arco gas station at the intersection of Mariposa and Bear Valley roads Tuesday afternoon when two men in a white Mustang said they were selling laptops for $250 each. The suspects reportedly opened the white box that was outfitted with labels found at Best Buy and showed the victims the "laptops" inside. The victims said they only had $300 and gave the two men the money for the "computers."
The suspects left as soon as they were given the money, the women said. They were described as one black man and another black or Hispanic man. The victims said the Mustang appeared to be a rental car.
When the victims opened the boxes, they realized that there were no laptops inside, just pieces of metal covered in silver duct tape with a white, paper apple taped in the middle.
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department officials said one of the victims admitted to deputies that she thought she was buying stolen laptops because of the low price.
"The (suspects) tried to sell fake laptops ... But the alleged victim in this case was knowingly buying suspected stolen property," Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Burgess said.
The two men selling the laptops have not been identified.
The incident is being investigated by officials at the Victorville Sheriff's Station. Anyone with information is urged to call the station at 760-241-2911 or leave an anonymous tip via WeTip at 800-78-CRIME or www.wetip.com.