May_May_Gong

My ebike was stolen around early May 2023. I posted the stolen bike on Bike Index.
Now - in August, I received a TEXT message from someone saying they think they “bought” my bike and saw it listed as stolen on Bike Index and am I offering a reward for it?

They said they had cops “run the serial and it came back clean” and do I want to meet up to see the bike?
It all sounds weird. My ebike was stolen WITHOUT its battery and charger, I still have that. I suspect this is the thief and being unsuccessful in selling this ebike with no battery, he/she is trying to get some $$ from it by getting ME to pay a reward.
I’ve called local police (I filed a report back in May) but slow to get the wheels turning. Posting here in case anyone has suggestions on how to proceed.
Thanks a bunch!

andoriax

I recommend creating informational content and tons of media of your bike and all its parts to upload to your bike profile here.

You can link to everything relevant too.

My bike page theft page has screenshots of a 14-page PDF I made SL about the bike with various contact methods and anonymous tips reporting methods too.

If you’re in a major city, there are organized community clubs like community-based “gangs” who know what happens on the streets, bike theft being a standard commonality that everyone knows is a typical reality in the bike world because bikes are equally associated with lowly lifestyles (homelessness, probation, substance addiction and related sales, bike theft and undercut resale is too easy for those in need of staying intoxicated. So, putting up ads and notices can circulate information thoroughly, not just online, but also among transients who aggrigate in desperation for a mere five bucks or so.

You can incentivise them with a business card flyer that shows your bike closeup with the URL of your Bike Index page, and with the reward ammount highlighted on the card flyer. You can post those full-page flyers everywhere too; online and city-wide in the most transient-dense areas because significant reward money above a street resale price will highly motivate desperate people to gain insight. Show them the cash, and put your Google Voice number on the card.
Or give them the police report number with the link to the theft Info and photos so they can find it and have the police pick it up for you.

Flyer everywhere that’s funky like you’re creating a new major record label out of a new band that needs all their shows to sell out immediately. Expect texts and calls and ecpect to discern fact from vagueness.