RANCHO BERNARDO, Calif. (KGTV) — A Rancho Bernardo woman is warning others after purchasing what she thought was the latest Samsung Galaxy smartphone, only to discover it was a sophisticated fake.
Leslie Feliciano-De la Cruz said she felt devastated after realizing she had been scammed.
"I felt really bad. From that day, I couldn't sleep," De la Cruz said.
In late January, De la Cruz saw an ad on OfferUp for a Samsung S25 Ultra priced at $650. Several days later, she and her husband met the seller, described as a man in his late 20s or early 30s.
"He gave me a box. It was sealed. We checked the IMEI number on several sites, just to check it was a clean one," De la Cruz said.
The phone appeared legitimate at first glance, with proper packaging and authentic-looking design elements.
"This is the phone. Still has the film cover. The front and back look good," De la Cruz said.
During the sale, De la Cruz inserted her SIM card into the new phone, and when her husband called the device, it connected successfully twice. However, problems emerged when she returned home and attempted to transfer files to the new phone.
The memory was insufficient, and the phone calls that had previously connected were no longer working, as she couldn't connect to her network.
"The processor is that of an old phone," De la Cruz said.
The realization hit her hard.
"Even during the day, racing in my mind, I've been scammed. How could I let this happen? That's always what's bothering me, seeing myself giving that money freely not knowing I'm being scammed," De la Cruz said.
Upon closer inspection, red flags became apparent. De la Cruz said the seller had shown her a receipt from his supposed original purchase, but the document contained inconsistencies.
"When I looked closer, there were different fonts. There was a promotion from a Canadian store. The line for taxes uses a term used in Asia,” De la Cruz said.
Due to a lack of centralized reporting, comprehensive national data on fake phone scams is limited. However, numerous online posts from victims describe similar experiences with counterfeit phones, including the same Samsung model.
Eva Velazquez, who heads the Identity Theft Resource Center, recommends avoiding tech purchases on online marketplaces.
"There are a lot of ways that criminals, even the carriers can remotely brick a phone that's been reported stolen… There’s a significant discount. Why? Most likely, there's something shady going on and you'll be left holding the bag," Velazquez said.
Despite feeling embarrassed, De la Cruz wants to help others avoid the same fate.
"Even if I look stupid... we're human, we need to create the awareness to prevent this from happening to other people," De la Cruz said.
De la Cruz filed a report with San Diego police. A spokesperson confirmed an investigation is now underway.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
