At approximately 3.50pm on Saturday 5 November 2022 a man attended an address in Bournemouth to purchase an Apple iPhone 13 Pro that was advertised for sale on Facebook.
The man appeared to transfer the money to the victim and showed them on his phone that the money had been sent. However, the money did not appear in the victim’s account, so they took a picture of the man’s car and registration number, as well as his driving licence, before giving him the phone.
The man left in a blue BMW and the money never appeared in the victim’s account.
Police Sergeant Hayley Lyne, of Dorset Police, said: “An investigation is underway into this series of incidents and we are carrying out enquiries to identify the person responsible.
“These incidents have caused a significant financial loss for the victims and the offender has made a number of efforts to make himself look credible.
“Unfortunately, the car and driving licence details have not provided any further information as they are believed to be false and we are now in a position to issue an image of a man we would like to identify.
“I would ask anyone who recognises him to please come forward.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk/contact or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55220180627. Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111.
