[bcguy390]

The real owner of the phone is the one that is going to be in trouble not the kid. However the article did say that neither of the kid's parents work at HTC which most likely means he stole the phone from somewhere. He deserves everything he has coming to him.

[chris_mahan]

He's a kid. He might have stolen the phone, or it might have been given to him by someone at his school, or he might have found it on the street, on a park bench, or at a public library. We just don't know. "most likely stole the phone" isn't a true statement.

He's a kid. Is this how we treat children in this day and age? Is this the civilized thing to do?

I don't think so.

Anyway, HTC could simply have said: "Thank you for finding our phone. Please ship it back to us in this prepaid box, and we'll give you a nice reward" (like a flatscreen TV, a Sony PS4 and $500 worth of games, or some equivalent). That would have been completely sufficient.

I'm not saying what the kid did was wrong or not. What I'm saying is that HTC could have handled the situation a lot better, a lot more professionally, and that I hold them to that.

[victorhooi]

Look, if it's stolen property, it doesn't matter if it's you that stole it or not, my parents taught me to give it back to the owner.

That's how it works - "finders keepers" never applies, ever.

I don't know, maybe this kid's parents forgot to teach him.

But either way, just from a use your brain perspective, if you do have stolen property, the last thing you want to do is go bragging on the internet in a video about it.

And the fact that the kid seems to be a prolific liar (and a bad one) doesn't exactly help me sympathise with him.

Sure, ok, he somehow "got in possession" of stolen property. He decided to brag about it in an internet video (which he later denies).

Why does he continue to lie again, and again, and again?

First it's - oh, the phone is a fake. Dude, the frigging IMEI number is right there.

Second, I didn't share the video. Sure, that's why it reads like every other internet review - gee, you filmed this with the express purpose of showing nobody?

Thirdly, my parents work for HTC - don't you think HTC would be able to find out in about 5 seconds if your parents worked for them?

Also - we don't even know the consequences.

As it stands, he's probably going to just get hauled in for having stolen property, told to give it back, and then given a stern talking to by a judge.

Unless of course he's stupid enough to try lying to the judge as well.

Then he'll quickly see that in the real world, your actions do have consequences.

[chris_mahan]

I have an 8 year-old boy. I taught him thus: "If you didn't earn it, it's not yours, so don't touch it."

Regardless of how unwise or immature his actions were, the company should not have treated him the way they did.

[BrandonRead]

I completely agree with the sentiments expressed in your response. Just because we live in a society where massive technology corporations need to maintain a positive image and keep release cycles under wraps does not mean this kid should be treated like a criminal. I would rather smartphones not even exist if this is the way we are going to treat people. #buildingARocketAndLeaving