Imgur Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/YwMa3hU

On saturday I took delivery of this package - the order was done directly through Apple’s UK website and the tracking was all legit. I got confirmation emails from apple and tracking details through DPD, everything as you would expect.

Once my package arrived, as you can see in my Imgur Gallery, I immediately knew it wasn’t right.
I opened the box and the first thing I notice is the screen protector, first thoughts were, had I been sent a return?
The next thing I notice when I turn it on, the screen isnt right, it lights up the black area in a way that is clearly not OLED and the bottom has a ‘Chin’ which suggests this is not correct for the phone.
Once I turned it on I was greeted with a very poor setup process and I immediately clocked that it was an android device in a skin. It may have convinced my Grandad but I could tell very quickly (especially when I saw actual android toasts popping up in some cases)
I managed to skip all the setup screens and get into the phone. It has facebook, youtube and tiktok installed already, the OS is glitchy and horrible, the camera is like a slideshow and crashes if you try to use any UI element on screen.

My main worry with this is that there are many people out there getting these phones and some may think it’s legit and then login to them using their apple IDs, facebook accounts, google etc etc. The phone is a match to the spec I ordered, Pro Max in natural titanium. Why go to the effort of matching my order is my question. Are they hoping to get on my wifi network or get login details for things? What if I tried to setup apple wallet? The app is there on the home screen when I open it.

Before anyone asks, yes I have a ticket open with Apple support and they will be getting back to me soon. I can update in comments if anyone is interested in the resolution to this issue.
Mainly I wanted to try and get this out there as a warning. If you do recieve anything like this, dont let it on your wifi network and dont login to it on anything, god knows what it could be hooked up to do.

Anyone got any ideas as to how this was achieved? I’ve been speculating with friends already. At first I thought DPD did the switch but they assure me that the box was sealed properly and so it was never opened or tampered with so couldnt of been them… Then I thought it might be at the supplier end? What’s crazy to me is that the whole delivery was trackable through the apple website and the tracking number on the box and everything matched so the process wasn’t broken at all from apple’s side either. Very interesting.

Anyways TLDR: I got an Android phone dressed as an iPhone that I ordered brand new direct from apple. It could be a scam to get my data - beware with your new phone purchases!

  • TheGreatProbe@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    What’s going to happen to the fake iPhone you received after Apple sends you over the replacement?

    • theEdmard@alien.topOPBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Nah but we make software for a company that tackles retail fraud. I very much doubt the scammers know that though.

  • kaktus1990@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Yes please keep us updated. I am very interested, how apple handles this. I think since apple has very controlled processes, i don‘t wanna be the guy which caused the problem (it is kind of social engineering and i think apple going hard on this).

  • bladerunner2442@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Ordered an Apple Watch direct from Apple a few years ago. It took 3 replacements to get it to me because it kept being stolen from the package. It finally came down to the packaging tape that was used to close the box again. Apple uses their own specific type of packaging tape. It ended up that FedEx had a group of people stealing Apple products. It was finally sent through a different FedEx branch and I opened it in front of the delivery driver to confirm it was in there. Anyways, I said all of this to confirm the packaging tape with Apple with pictures of the box.

  • 0RGASMIK@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Carrier definitely messed with it. They know exactly what’s in your package from Apple.

  • wipny@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I’m curious to see how Apple handles the situation.

    In the tracking info, was it shipped from their warehouse overseas in China/India or from somewhere closer? I remember the iPhone 12 I bought came directly from China.

    I’m guessing it had to have been switched at the delivery level, maybe at the shipping warehouse or by a courier. The cardboard boxes Apple uses to ship their products are pretty standardized and obvious to people who’ve seen them before.

    What did Apple say? Did Apple have you bring the fake phone to the Apple Store or ship it back to them for investigation? Did they give you a time frame on when they’ll get back to you?

  • CupertinoHouse@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Organized crime has re-infiltrated several shippers. Fun fact: UPS was started as liquor-smuggling front by Al Capone.

  • antiadmin666@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    This is wild. I have heard about these fake iPhones. Never seen one though. It looks like a modified Motorola judging by the chin at the bottom.

  • SMIDG3T@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    ‪People thinking Apple actually shipped this guy a fake is hilarious. It’s obviously been switched out en-route. So people are so dumb. ‬

  • kwc04@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I wonder if it’s some specifically made fake iphone or maybe an actual android phone mocked up to like an iphone

  • Infinite-Fee-2810@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    That’s very scary! The fact that people are now manufacturing Android phones dressed as iPhones and switching them out during the ordering process makes me nervous. It’s a good thing you are an experienced customer. Thank goodness you knew what to look for. Thanks for the warning ⚠️!