Melbourne woman recovers phone after new owner’s unwitting selfie

A woman in Melbourne was able to recover her stolen iPhone after the phone's new owner accidentally posted a selfie on Facebook from the device. When she reported the device as stolen to police, it was quickly handed in and recovered. 

Nicola Shelton, 33, had her bag taken while on holiday in Byron Bay – a popular tourist spot in New South Wales, Australia – and she said as a result she managed to lose her phone, along with her credit cards and a range of other personal items. 

The gutted woman had returned home some time later from her vacation when she looked on Facebook. Initially taken aback by the appearance on her timeline of an image of an unknown man in a selfie, she quickly realised that the man in the photo must be the same one who stole her phone. 

Reporting the gentleman to police, she then went on to shame him on Facebook by adding a caption to the photo to show her friends the identity of the man who she assumed had taken her phone. 

She wrote on Facebook: "So this is the low life that stole my bag/iPhone and has decided to take a photo with my phone and post it on my Facebook!! Scum! Bag stolen in Byron bay on February 14, please share to everyone!!!"

However, it later turned out that the man in the photo hadn't stolen the phone, claiming that he had actually purchased it from someone else and had no clue where it had come from originally. He handed it in to local police in Byron Bay, and the device was later reunite with Ms Shelton. 

"I’m just amazed by the help from people I don’t even know," she told Daily Mail Australia after her photo was shared by more than 20,000 people across the world.