Scammer Steals $600 From Local Woman Using "Rocks in a Box" Caper

A woman was bilked out of $600 in cash in exchange for what turned out to be pieces of wood packed inside cardboard boxes, police said. 

On March 19, a Berkeley woman was approached by a man in a San Leandro restaurant parking lot about buying several items, said Sgt. Tom Dolter.

The man said he wanted to sell her what appeared to be two new iPads and televisions in boxes that were wrapped in plastic. The boxes appeared to sport company labels. 

"This is a very old scam," said Dolter; it used to be called "rocks in a box."

The woman initially was hesitant but the man "assured her the items were real and that he had posted them on Craigslist."

She told the man she would go home to Berkeley to get $600 in cash, and then meet him in the Albany parking lot. 

After the deal was done, sometime before 5:40 p.m., the woman went home and opened the boxes, finding pieces of wood inside rather than the electronics she expected. 

"As with most of these scams," said Dolter, via email, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is…"

If there's something in this article you think , or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at albany@patch.com.