I ordered a brand new iPhone from Apple and received a FAKE – watch out for nightmare scam that could cost you thousands
IMAGINE spending nearly £1,200 on a new gadget from a Big Tech brand, only for a fake copycat to land on your doorstep.
Well that's exactly what a UK Apple customer has claimed.
One Brit has been left baffled after ordering the new iPhone 15 Pro Max from Apple's website and allegedly unboxing an Android posing as an iPhone.
Warning others via Reddit, the Apple customer explained: "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... I immediately knew it wasn't right.
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"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 isn't 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.
"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."
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It's unclear whether the box containing the real iPhone 15 was switched with a fake, or if there was a supplier error.
DPD allegedly told the customer the box was sealed properly and was never opened or tampered with.
Apple did not respond to The Sun's request for comment.
The customer told fellow Redditors that they had a filed a report with Apple and was awaiting a response.
It is most likely a delivery scam, where legitimate products are intercepted in transit and replaced with fakes.
However, the customer was concerned about others who are less tech-savvy and might not be able to spot the fake - and what the consequences for falling for the scam are.
The customer suspects it was a ploy to steal their data, warning others to be careful with their new phone purchases.
"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," they wrote.
"The phone is a match to the spec I ordered, Pro Max in natural titanium.
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"Why go to the effort of matching my order is my question.
"Are they hoping to get on my Wi-Fi 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."