BigFatPauli
1714
I don't believe this would happen as you describe. Let play it it logically....
Dec 01, 2022,00:55 AM
You reported a stolen serial number to a brand, they see it is stolen.
In your example the original owner was paid out by their insurer, meaning the new legal owner of that watch is the insurance company.
The watch brand would inform the insurance company they found your watch. The insurance company would request the return of their watch.
The watch brand would likely request you return the watch to them for them to return to the insurance company. If you refused, the watch brand would inform the insurance company that they could not obtain the watch.
The insurance company would then contact your local law enforcement and tell them you have their property and are refusing to return it. They consider it now stolen from them.
The police knock on your door and seize the stolen watch.
As an aside, watch brands will typically not tell you if a watch is stolen over the phone or via email, they would request you bring it to them for a service, at which point they would just seize the watch.