• A California man discovered the e-bike he was interested in buying off Craiglist was actually stolen, after looking up the bike’s serial number.
  • When buying secondhand bikes from unlicensed sellers, it’s always good to check the serial number to ensure that the bike isn’t stolen.
  • Using Bike Index may help protect you from bike theft. Over 10,000 bikes have been recovered using the online database.

When design researcher Justin Lai made plans to purchase a Rad Power Bikes RadRunner Plus e-bike from Craigslist last week, he had no idea he’d end up leading a sting operation to reunite the stolen bike with its rightful owner. But when he went to Santa Cruz, California, to pick up the e-bike from the seller, things got a little weird.

“I found a Rad Power Bikes RadRunner Plus on Craigslist for ~1/2 off MRSP in Santa Cruz; I was a little suspicious, but you never know!” Lai tweeted in a thread about the incident.

Lai made plans to meet the seller and said that the seller seemed communicative and unsuspicious via email and text. Still, 50 percent off of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) seems suspicious in any circumstance, so Lai retained a bit of skepticism.

Once he reached the meeting location and was checking out the bike, Lai felt like the seller’s behavior was starting to feel a little strange; he was acting nervous, and fumbled as he ‘attempted’ to pull up the sale’s receipt for the bike on his phone. While he did that, Lai quickly checked the bike’s serial number on Bike Index, a website that allows bike owners to register their bikes after purchase.

The result was instantaneous: The bike Lai was looking at was, in fact, stolen.

We all know that confronting a bike thief can potentially be dangerous, and thankfully, Lai opted to avoid confrontation. He told the seller he had changed his mind, then when the seller walked down the road and left the bike locked up at the nearby farmer’s market, Lai contacted the original bike owner via Bike Index, and then both called the Santa Cruz Police Department.

Unfortunately, the bike thief was only making a quick stop at the market, and biked off before the police arrived. That’s when the idea for a sting operation was hatched, Lai explained in his Twitter thread. Soon after that, the Santa Cruz Police Department agreed to back him up as he contacted the seller, told him he’d changed his mind, and would purchase the bike. They agreed to meet again.

When the bike thief returned with the bike, the police officers moved in, and the bike thief was arrested. The e-bike was returned to its rightful owner for a happy ending. (Props to Lai for not just taking a great deal, and riding off into the sunset!)

How can you, too, help prevent bike theft? First, register your bike with a database like Bike Index. Second, when buying a used bike, take the time to double-check the database to make sure it’s not reported as stolen. Bike Index is used by numerous clubs, organizations, and law enforcement agencies, and over the years, it’s helped recover over 10,000 stolen bikes with a total value of over $18,265,688. And you can register your bike for free in minutes!

That way, if your bike is stolen, simply report it, and your bike will be listed in police and pawn industry databases, and stand-up citizens like Lai who are buying secondhand bikes can do a quick check to ensure the bike they’re buying isn’t on the stolen list.