By Billy Davis

Batesville police reported Tuesday that a “laptop scam” duped another victim, this time in a restaurant parking lot.

The victim, who was not identified by police, paid $75 for a too-good-to-be-true deal on a Toshiba laptop, police said.

“It was a piece of wood,” said BPD Detective Paul Shivers.

“People will continue to pull this scam as long as people are greedy and think they’re getting a bargain,” said BPD Chief Tony Jones.

“It amazes me how people can fall for these same old tricks,” he said. “Who sells laptop computers in a parking lot?”

The Toshiba scam mirrors a similar scam employed last December, when a “Dell” laptop that sold for $250 was actually three-ring binders tied together. Bubble wrap and a Wal-Mart sticker completed the ruse.

That victim was approached at the Wal-Mart in Batesville last December. The victim was even convinced by the con artists to return merchandise to pay for the laptop, police said at the time.

The Panolian reported, days afterward, that police in Madison, Miss. had arrested two alleged con artists who tried to sell an “Apple Macbook Pro” for $250. More fake laptops were found in their car.

Those suspects were not the same “Dell” sellers in Batesville, police said at the time.

Shivers said the latest “laptop” victim saw the automobile’s tag and passed it on to police. The vehicle, a Hyundai Sonata, was registered to a rental agency from the Jackson airport, he said.