A forgetful cellphone swindler was arrested recently after he targeted a former victim for the second time earlier this month, reports Beijing Morning Post.

After Han received a phone call and went to a designated place to meet a man who wanted to "talk about business", he realized the man was the same one who made away with his cellphone in a previous scam. He called police immediately.

The man, Yang Hui, who had come from Hunan Province to find his fortune, later confessed to police that he usually targeted businessmen by inviting them to meet at a hotel or department store, typically crowded, busy places.

When his pre-set pager beeped during their conversation, he would borrow his victim's cellphone on the excuse that his own had run out of power and walk off with it.

Since March, he had successfully pulled off a number of such stunts, earning thousands of yuan by selling each phone for 200-400 yuan (US$24-48).

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