Belize City Woman Loses Money in Online iPhone Scam

A Belize City woman is out of pocket tonight after falling victim to an online scam involving the attempted purchase of a cellular phone through social media.  Thirty-one-year-old Akelia Smith, a customer service representative of M&M Street, reported to the Crimes Investigation Branch that she was deceived into transferring money for an iPhone that never arrived.  According to Smith, the incident began on Sunday evening while she was browsing a Belize buy-and-sell page on Facebook. Her attention was drawn to a red iPhone 11 advertised for four hundred and fifty Belize dollars. After making contact with the seller, identified only as “Marcus,” an agreement was reached to purchase the device for three hundred and fifty dollars, with a two-hundred-dollar deposit required upfront.  Smith was instructed to deposit the funds into an Atlantic Bank account under the name Caleem George Jaylon Williams, with the assurance that the phone would be shipped from Caye Caulker via Tropic Air.  On Monday afternoon, Smith proceeded to the Atlantic Bank branch on Freetown Road, where she made the deposit and forwarded proof of payment to the seller. She was subsequently provided with what appeared to be a Tropic Air shipping receipt and told the package would arrive later that same day.  However, upon visiting the Tropic Air office in Belize City, Smith was informed that the receipt was fraudulent and that no package had been sent in her name. Efforts to contact the seller afterward proved unsuccessful, and up to the time of the report, neither the phone nor the money had been recovered.  Police have since recorded a formal statement, collected copies of the transaction receipts, and initiated further investigations into the matter, with financial intelligence requests also being prepared.  Authorities are once again reminding the public to exercise extreme caution when conducting transactions online, particularly on social media platforms, and to verify sellers and payment arrangements before sending any money.