I wouldn't use the term "nailed" to mean, "forced to visit the police, sheepishly apologise, and pocket $500 anyway". The end result hasn't changed a bit!

I find it a bit odd that the same British law which makes it illegal to behave "anti-socially" with completely open-ended penalties can't manage to penalize someone for stealing half a grand... Maybe I've just misunderstood, and actually ASBOs are just a polite admonishment to be a bit nicer in the future?

So you buy some Mac hardware in exchange for games console and/or cash on a messageboard from someone you've never seen, has no feedback, no fraud guarantee (like eBay) -- the whole thing was dubious from the start. The buyer was as equally stupid as the seller was malicious. The buyer was naive beyond description, I'm not apologising for a 17 year old crook, but anyone stupid enough to caught up in a transaction like this can only expect to get fleeced. There were scams like this for supposedly "collectible" Star Wars toys in newsgroups a dozen years ago - I can't believe people are still falling for it.