Pager Thief Falls for Owner’s Ruse

LONDON — A British man trapped the thief who stole his pager by leaving a message saying he had won $835 in a competition.

David Withers lost the pager when someone broke into his car. Builder Justin Clark, ensnared in the simplest of stings, was fined $251 for being in possession of stolen property after answering the message.

Withers said that soon after he left the message, “my mobile [phone] rang, and a shady-sounding voice asked about the prize.”

“I told him he had won 500 pounds in a church fete and that I had paged him because I did not want to send the money by post. The police arrested the idiot when he came to collect the prize. I could not believe anybody would be that stupid.”