Teen Receives Counterfeit Money After Selling MacBook On Craigslist
BELLFLOWER (CBS2) — A 15-year-old Bellflower boy who sold his laptop on Craigslist to help his family was given hundreds of dollars in counterfeit cash in return.
Veronica Pulido said her son decided to sell his $1,200 MacBook Pro, which the honors student earned, because she recently lost her job.
The mother said a 23-year-old man from Anaheim texted the teenager about the offer after it was advertised on the classifieds website.
The alleged scammer showed up with his wife at Pulido's home on Tuesday with $900 in cash.
"My son walked up and said, 'You want me to open (the laptop) and show you that it works?' The guy said, 'No, I trust you.' My son was like, 'Are you sure? Call me if you need anything.' The guy said, 'No. It's fine.' He handed my son the money," said Pulido.
The boy's mother, however, felt like something was wrong.
Pulido said a local retailer informed her that the money appeared to be counterfeit.
The cash was tested with a special marker and certain strips were missing.
The texture of the money was also unusual.
"I feel sick. Given the situation we're in…he worked hard for that and for someone to just take it and have no remorse and no conscience after we tried to contact him and say, 'Please, we'll give you your counterfeit money back. Just please return it,'" Pulido said.
The mom said the family has posted alerts about the scammer on Craigslist.
"If he's watching…I hope that you think about (what you did) every night…what you did to a child," said Pulido.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is investigating the incident.
A local branch of the Secret Service hasn't been called to help with the case just yet, but if they're asked, they will make sure the money isn't part of a larger counterfeit ring.
