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A New York City musician used a combination of technology, seduction, a hammer and a bribe to reclaim his missing iPhone from a confused crook.

Jazz trombonist Nadav Nirenberg says he left the phone in a livery cab on New Year's Eve. The next morning, the 27-year-old learned via email that someone was sending messages to women using a dating app on the phone.

“It was immediately turned off when I called it. This dude was clearly keeping it,” Nirenberg wrote on his blog, according to MyFox8.com.

Nirenberg logged on to the service and offered the man a date -- posing as a 24-year-old woman.

MyFox8.com reports that Nirenberg used a photo of an attractive woman he found on Google Images and was able to get the thief to respond to his messages.

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When the culprit arrived at Nirenberg's Brooklyn apartment building with wine, the musician greeted him with a $20 bill while holding a hammer -- just in case.

The thief handed him the iPhone and left without a word.

Nirenberg told the New York Post he likely won't file a police report, according to MyFox8.com.

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