Fake iphones iphones: Does Apple hold some responsibility.

annmoulds wrote:

They cannot control what comes into the country - I agree but if the phone has a serial and IMEI number that Apple verify as being authentic then is that not their responsibility when it turns out to be a fake

each phone has a unique serial and IMEI number allocated and registered on production .how can they verify a phone to be authentic and registered with Apple with manufactures warranty based on its serial and IMEI number when they didn’t produce it in the first place -

No, they should not be held accountable at all. Numbers can be spoofed, just like scammers spoof phone numbers all the time. Thieves and scammers are evil people, but that doesn't mean they're stupid.

You saw what you most assuredly thought was a deal "too good to pass up." Only you got scammed on one of the most notorious sites in the world to get scammed buying name brand items. Apple is in no way responsible for what bad people do. But you are responsible for making smarter buying decisions and that means NEVER buy items like an iPhone on a public marketplace.

Read this --> The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying … - Apple Community

You used Meta Facebook Marketplace for the purchase, and Meta has been known for various scams. That Meta made money from this sale would not surprise.

You’re depending on trivially-copied serial numbers as a means of counterfeit detection. The manufacturer can copy a whole phone, phone and box and all. Copying a serial number is comparatively easy. Which can means one real device with that number, and quite possibly dozens or thousands of fakes with that same copied number.

Versions of this particular problem go back millennia, too. Even has a term in Latin: caveat emptor. Buyer Beware.

Or as Apple puts it, “buy from a reliable seller” and “understand the return policy”:

• If you want to buy a preowned iPhone - Apple Support

annmoulds wrote:

Thank you . I have bought iPhones off FB market place before and never been scammed . There are genuine sellers on there. I wasn’t looking for a lecture or telling off about my shopping habits. I am well aware of scams on the site but just sickening when I conducted a dilligence exercise with Apple first. Thank you for the lecture and to thank you to those who replied in a more sensitive manner

I'm sorry if you felt I was lecturing you. It wasn't my intent. But the link I provided I wrote after countless years of people coming who bought used devices from Marketplace, Offer-Up or eBay to name a few, who got scammed, just like you did. In fact, we see a post almost daily from someone here. This isn't unusual and while I'm sorry it happened to you, it was avoidable.

You were asking what Apple will do for you and of course the answer is nothing. They would do something for you if you bought a phone from them or an Authorized Seller. So please do yourself a favor and ONLY buy from Apple or Authorized Sellers going forward.

annmoulds wrote:

I veified the phone via the apple web site. That was the only reasons I purchased the phone

That is a terrible reason to purchase the phone. The actual owner of the phone can certainly lock the phone after verification, send you a different phone, or the phone can be damaged costing you more money to repair. Apple has no way to guarantee any of this is not going to happen and your purchase was made with Facebook Marketplace, not Apple. Why do you think it is OK for Facebook Marketplace to facilitate this fraudulent transaction where you were scammed?

Buy from Apple or Authorized Apple Seller unless you are willing to take a HUGE risk in an Apple purchase. As with any gamble, there are going to be some losers who do not follow that very basic recommendation.

Re: “each phone has a unique serial and IMEI number allocated and registered on production .how can they verify a phone to be authentic and registered with Apple with manufactures warranty based on its serial and IMEI number when they didn’t produce it in the first place”

Real, standards-compliant phones have unique IMEI numbers. Counterfeit ones may have non-unique IMEIs that the counterfeiters copied from real phones as part of the scam. A counterfeit U.S. bill may have a serial number copied from a real U.S. bill, but that does not mean that the U.S. Treasury is the party responsible for the imitation.

annmoulds wrote:

I veified the phone via the apple web site. That was the only reasons I purchased the phone

As mentioned in the article I linked above, when looking at a used iPhone, if you can't see it in person and verify it is real and opens to the Hello Page, DON'T buy it. Whoever scammed you, was able to input the real numbers for a real phone. But not for the phone you purchased.

Re: “I veified the phone via the apple web site. That was the only reasons I purchased the phone “

As you have already been told, it is easy for counterfeiters to copy serial numbers belonging to real phones. It is not Apple’s fault if counterfeiters did so.

Next time, purchase from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller, not some random unauthorized seller on an electronic marketplace site.

Apple does not have an army or police force that is able to enforce these things globally, where fake stuff can be produced in any nation.

Suppose it's always been the same deal for Rolex, the watchmaker, and Toyota (if fake Toyotas are a thing)

Purchase Apple Products from the Apple Online Store, Apple Retail Stores, and many Apple-authorized resellers and wireless service providers.

it makes no sense, fake iphones has no communication with apples servers, they only communicate with the carriers they use. apple do not have some global or even national way to access all cellular deviecs to verify if what/why and hows of said phone. my understanding is that fake iphone are android or the likes phones with skins to make them look like iphones, and they do not have an apple app store app or have any sort of communication with apples services, such as icloud, any more than normal android phones has.

"I bought an apple iphone off Facebook Market Place."

That really is the 'wild west' of purchasing.

" a serial and IMEI number that Apple verify"

Where did Apple verify your IMEI? Or are you asking for a friend?

Servant of Cats wrote:

Re: “I bought an apple iphone off Facebook Market Place.”

How is Apple responsible for a counterfeit phone purchased from a non-authorized seller on Facebook Marketplace?!?

Gotta blame somebody. Couldn’t possibly be the poster’s fault, right?

Re: “I bought an apple iphone off Facebook Market Place.”

How is Apple responsible for a counterfeit phone purchased from a non-authorized seller on Facebook Marketplace?!?