The encounter to sell his Rolex watch seemed to proceed like all of Steve Mauro’s previous sales organized through Facebook Marketplace, but then things suddenly went awry.
The Massapequa resident had scheduled a meeting with a buyer on Friday morning near his residence to sell the watch for $8,000. Mauro revealed to News 4 that he has used the social media platform numerous times to sell items of lesser value.
“I posted the item, received an immediate response, and the individual negotiated, which scammers typically do not. I thought I had a legitimate deal here,” Mauro shared on Saturday.
He mentioned that the person, identified as “Jhon,” posed numerous questions and arranged to meet Mauro at his home around 11 a.m. The in-person interaction did not raise any suspicions until the moment when the buyer was prepared to make payment and urged Mauro to get into his car.
“He’s like, ‘go hop in the passenger [seat].’ He said it so nonchalant,” Mauro recounted.
After discovering that the door was locked, Mauro quickly dashed to the driver’s side.
“I opened [the door], he then tried to close it and then while he put the car in reverse, so that’s what threw me to the ground,” he narrated.
Simultaneously, a Nassau County police officer on patrol drove down Jerusalem Avenue and spotted the gray Honda reversing, causing Mauro to fall to the ground.
“I picked myself up, jumped on the hood and then he took me for a ride. I was tossed on my front lawn, launched off of the hood. I told the cop, ‘go get the guy,'” Mauro recounted.
The police are now on the lookout for the Honda, which may have Connecticut license plates.
Mauro’s advice to others selling items online: do not hesitate to request payment upfront and always remain cautious.
“Large items like this, I probably wouldn’t do it out of my house. That was probably my mistake,” he reflected.
