Los Gatos Man's $2K-Plus Emerald Gem Stolen Through Craigslist

A Los Gatos man had a $2,200 emerald gem stolen through a Craigslist advertisement and local cops are warning the public about the dangers of sending valuable items to strangers without getting paid first.

According to Los Gatos/Monte Sereno police, the 55-year-old Los Gatos man placed an advertisement on Craigslist to sell the lone precious stone on the classified website and reported its theft the afternoon of July 30.

The gem was sent to Buffalo, NY and the next day a "woman" texted the victim that she had received the package, according to Los Gatos/Monte Sereno police Sgt. Stephen Walpole.

The “woman” then emailed the victim to send her $300 to an account so she could get her friend out of the hospital, Sgt. Walpole said.

A LGMSPD officer then wrote back immediately stating that the victim could not respond since he was talking with the police, Sgt. Walpole added.

The victim then received an email from a “male” stating that he had been dealing with his wife and “the transaction was not done correctly on her part,” Sgt. Walpole said.

The suspect “male” then asked if he could Skype to try to remedy the problem, but the Skype account call was never accepted by the suspect “male” who apparently resided in Florida, Sgt. Walpole explained.

The victim was given a fraudulent PayPal account on July 29.

What does Sgt. Walpole recommend for those doing these types of transactions over the Internet?

"Understand PayPal’s buyer protection plan and never send valuable items to strangers without getting paid first," he said.