Streetlight Manifesto trombonist lures phone thief with fake OkCupid profile

According to a story from the New York Post, Nadav Nirenberg, trombonist for Streetlight Manifesto, was able to retrieve his stolen cell phone from a crook who was using his phone number and image on dating website OKCupid.

When Nirenberg received an OkCupid email alert that his phone was being used to communicate with women on the website, he was able to log on, see all of the thief’s activity and devised a plan to get his phone back.

The trombonist and a friend posed as a woman using a fake profile and began communicating with the man who had stolen his phone. Eventually, the two agreed to meet. When the man showed up at Nirenberg’s apartment with the stolen phone (mind you, cologne-wearing and shaven—ready for the date he thought was going to happen), “the musician tapped him on the shoulder from behind, flashed a hammer and demanded his phone back,” according to the New York Post.

He with thieving hands complied and hurried away after Nirenberg handed him $20.

“’As he was walking away, I said, ‘You smell great, though,’ Nirenberg quipped.”