An Edinburgh man was excited to get his Sony a7 IV he ordered online. However, he was scammed and received a suspicious package instead of the £2,400 camera. When the package arrived at his address, there was no camera inside, or anything related to photographic gear. instead, the man received a box that contained bags of suspicious white powder.

Jakub Sokolowski his Sony mirrorless camera from Jessops, a reputable UK photo gear store. The camera was supposed to be delivered by DPD on 25 November 2022, priced at £2400 (roughly $3,000 USD). However, when Sokolowski opened the box, he found two large bags of an “unknown substance,” as MSN reports. It was probably there to add weight to the parcel so there was no suspicion, but it’s not clear what was in the bags.

But whatever the content of the bags might be, it was a huge disappointment for Sokolowski, and a huge hit on his budget and mental health. He says that he had saved £1,000 over a year to buy it, and it was the amount he paid upfront. He has lost this money, and he will also have to pay off the remaining £1,400. Sokolowski adds that it’s not the only money he lost, but also the money from jobs he’d had to cancel because the camera never arrived. “The worst part of this situation is that none of the companies were willing to help nor refund me the money I lost,” he told Edinburgh Live. “I ordered my new camera in November, it was supposed to be an investment for work and take my work to the next level.” All of this has also affected his mental health, leading to many sleepless nights. This kind of stress does that to a person, and it could lead to more severe issues like depression or various health conditions. A spokesperson for DPD told Edinburgh Live that cases like this are “incredibly rare due to the high level of security and tracking throughout the delivery phase.” Although, it’s not that they don’t happen at all, as we’ve seen before. They added that a claim for a refund had been raised even though the investigation was still ongoing. Al least Sokolowski will most likely get his money back, that’s something positive in this whole story. But I wonder who will make up for the stress he’s been through and the gigs he had to cancel. [via FStoppers]