A Glasgow mum has been left desperate for action after a conman destroyed her family's Christmas.
Catherine McGill was conned by a crook who charged her £750 for a fake Samsung S22 Ultra phone for her son Patrick, 16.
The mum-of-three said the cash was everything she has saved over the past year. She thought she was buying a phone that sells for £1149 in John Lewis, and was saving some money.
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The Daily Record reports that an expert slammed the phone as “one of the worst” fakes he’d seen and confirmed that thousands of similar devices are in circulation in Scotland.
When Catherine, 53, reported the incident to police, she was initially dismissed, with officers saying it was a civil matter. However, an investigation has now been launched.
Catherine, who relies on benefits and lives in Baillieston, said: “I feel heartbroken and I just keep bursting into tears when I think of it.
“This has wrecked our Christmas because I was saving up all year to get Patrick the top phone. The conman took all the menage money.
“I was nervous about using Facebook Marketplace but everything is so expensive and I just wanted to get a bargain.
“I had all sorts of alarm bells going but I thought my failsafe was getting the guy to speak to the camera, as he knew the police would be getting sight of it if the deal wasn’t straight.
“But I think he probably suspected the police would fob me off. I am glad they seem to be taking it seriously now.”
The total for all counterfeit goods being sold in Scotland is now estimated to be worth almost £1billion a year with sites like Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree eBay and TikTok filled with crooks.
Catherine said the conman – who turned up in an Audi and claimed his name was Bermondo Cherban – told her he had a daughter and that he would never treat anyone badly because of that. His phone was fitted with a Romanian sim card.
Catherine had earlier taken a photo of the man and phoned the number later, from her own phone, but he refused to pick up.
The Record called the same number on Whatsapp and the same man in Catherine’s image answered a video call.
When asked to give Catherine's money back, he said he lived in Southampton and had not been in Glasgow since 2019.
Colin Mathieson, of Advice Direct Scotland, said: “On fake and counterfeit goods, there are tell-tale signs we advise people to watch out for, like spelling errors, a lack of warranty or receipt or a failure to display a postal address for the seller. PO boxes are generally not good.”
Police Scotland said: “We received a report of counterfeit goods, involving a mobile phone, on Sunday, November 13, 2022, in the Baillieston area.
“Following further investigations, this has been recorded as fraud and officers are conducting further inquiries.”
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