Awesome: Musician Recovers iPhone From Thief Using a Computer, $20 and a Hammer

Punk trombonist Nadav Nirenberg yesterday tells how he used a hammer to nail an iPhone thief by posing as a girl. Got it? (New York Post/Gabriella Bass)

We all know the age-old saying, "crime doesn't pay." Well, sometimes it can also be humiliating, one thief learned after his victim turned the tables with an elaborate ruse.

While out on the town on New Year's Eve, 27-year-old musician Nadav Nirenberg lost his iPhone in the back of a cab. He called his phone several times, and when he got no answer, left messages promising a reward if the phone was returned to him.

Unfortunately, his messages went unreturned and he realized he may never see his iPhone again.

Then, just as he had lost all hope, Nirenberg noticed the phone thief had logged into his online dating profile on OKCupid and was trying to meet women. "Not only is he stealing my phone, he's creepy and disturbing," he wrote in a blog post.

But that gave Nirenberg an idea. He created a fake email and "half-believable" OKCupid account as "Jennifer Gonzalez." Jennifer was 24 and had just moved to Brooklyn. She was also, conveniently for the thief, looking for a man to take her out.

"I sent a message to the thief (my account) and chatted him up as Jennifer...weird," Nirenberg recalled on his blog. "I used lots of winks and smiley faces so I would seem like a girl," he later told the New York Post.

After a few hours of online chatting and heavy flirting, "Jennifer" suggested that they meet for a glass of wine at her apartment. And the thief showed up, "all dressed up, had a bottle of wine and stank of cologne."

But the thieving Casanova's romantic date was ruined when Nirenberg appeared behind him -- holding a large hammer. He tapped the man on the shoulder and asked for his phone back. As a good faith gesture, he actually gave the guy $20 for his phone.

"He was ready for a date," Niremberg told the New York Post. He described the man as a "small Indian dude."

In what is perhaps the best part of this story, before the embarrassed man could get away, Niremberg jokingly told him, "You smell great, though."

The Huffington Post provides a screenshot of Niremberg's soon-to-be deleted OKCupid profile:

Bonus: TheBlaze accidentally stumbled onto one of Nirenberg's trombone solos on YouTube -- and he's really, really good. Enjoy.

(H/T: HuffPo)