Sign in / up

back to article Laptop potato scammers turn to onions

Two men have been arrested in Reading for recycling the classic laptop switch scam, but with a twist. The laptop potato scam has been a mainstay of British conmen for years. Punters are shown a laptop at a knockdown price. But when they hand over the money the bag or box is switched for one traditionally filled with spuds to …

COMMENTS

House rules Send corrections
This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Charles 9

    Has the scammer ever been scammed?

    Does anyone know of an instance in which the spud switch takes place, but the supposed conman later learns to his dismay that the supposed rube paid with counterfeit money? I mean, I don't think it's something you could take to the police: that you tried to con someone and got conned yourself.

    1 0
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      I've paid for some massive drugs

      with dodgy notes before. One bloke I know paid for £200 quid's worth of herbal stuff with 4 identical (the serial numbers were the same) fifty's. I don't like taking one fifty unless I have thouroughly checked it!

      0 2
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Coat

      Great Idea..

      ..it could be know as the 'Free Spuds' or 'Free Onions' scam.

      Also just imagine that in 100 years time, the cost of a potato could be more than a '100 year old laptop' and the whole scam could be reversed - if you follow me..

      0 0
  2. TeeCee Gold badge
    Coat

    Spuds are ok for some.

    Potatoes may not be an acceptable laptop substitute for all, but they can get online video through YouTuber. For music there's eyeTunes of course.

    9 0
    1. Elmer Phud
      Reply Icon

      value added

      At least with spuds you get a box of chips (which is pretty much all a laptop is anyway)

      0 0
  3. Tigra 07
    Coat

    This is well old

    I heard something similar, only they were paying for iphones and getting lemons

    7 0
  4. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Seems reasonable...

    I believe the price of spuds per pound, sorry kilo, has gone up, but onions have stayed the same. No I am serious! Anyway crooks have overheads too you know!

    1 0
  5. mhoulden
    WTF?

    A fool and his money

    Last time I checked, Dell, Toshiba et al didn't tend to use dodgy looking blokes on street corners as part of their distribution channels. Even second hand machines tend to go through somewhere like eBay, 2nd hand shops or things like uni notice boards. What kind of person decides to pay cash for a laptop from someone they've bumped into on the street without asking questions and wanting to see what they're paying for?

    1 0
  6. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    When life hands you onions...

    ...make onion soup.

    0 0
  7. James 5
    Happy

    So...

    ... that's what happened to all those French onion sellers on bikes!

    1 0
  8. David 39
    FAIL

    I've had this

    I once bought a box of spuds that had a laptop in it, i was incensed!

    7 0
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      Coffee!

      New keyboard sir!

      0 0
  9. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    Ahh, a fool

    and its money, you know the rest. Serves em fuckin' right for having an IQ a glass of pop would be ashamed of.

    Beer, well, its friday.

    1 0
  10. digital_age
    Joke

    iSpud

    Apple's new take on Mr Potatohead...

    1 0
    1. sT0rNG b4R3 duRiD
      Reply Icon
      Jobs Horns

      No... Apples

      You'd think for an Apple bait and switch, they'd at least put APPLES in the box.

      Actually...

      On second thoughts, if I ever fell victim (not that I ever will :P), I'd prefer the spuds, at least I could make chips...

      0 0
  11. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

    re: A fool and his money

    >What kind of person decides to pay cash for a laptop from someone they've bumped into on the street

    The kind that grows up and joins the government where they are put in charge of IT projects.

    5 0
  12. JaitcH
    Stop

    This sounds like the Thai jewellery scam!

    Fools and suckers are enticed into buying unmounted, cut jewels - with a 'guaranteed value,' with a money back guarantee - that are sold sealed in tough, transparent, plastic containers. The only condition is that seal not be broken.

    The catch is that no purchaser can get an assessment of the value without breaking the seal at which time they are 'worthless'.

    Tip: Never buy any jewellery in Thailand, nor anything from Duty Free!

    4 2
  13. Neoc

    New Apple product

    "a British man was arrested in Germany last year for selling iPods and laptops which on closer inspection were nothing more than spuds"

    Ahhh, the iPud.

    0 0
This topic is closed for new posts.