Scammers In China Turn Fake iPhones Into Real Ones

Apple doesn’t have a good reputation when it comes to after-sales services in China- over the last month, Apple has been accused of treating Chinese customers in a way different way than customers in other countries, and not in a good way. But in reality, it has been discovered that Apple has also been exploited by Chinese criminals.

Apple’s bad reputation in Chinese after-sales services is rightfully deserved, no doubt. According to reports, if you want to replace your iPhone in U.K for instance, you would get a brand-new device. But in China, the customers get their old and used back covers attached to the new devices, and apparently if they want a new back cover, they have to pay for it. Reports also say that Apple’s return and repair system violates China’s rules and regulations. For example, Apple extends a one-year warranty for the iPad, even though China’s regulations mandate that quite a few of the product’s components have two-year warranties.

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But authorities recently found out that a Wenzhou Apple shop owner turned in 121 Appe iPhone 4s BAND parts (which are actually worth about $476 each), claiming that they were broken and needed to be replaced. This happened in December, 2012. Apple consented to the request, but the company discovered in January that the parts the shop owner had claimed to be broken, were actually counterfeits.

Finally, earlier this month the police arrested one of the engineers at the shop, along with her boyfriend, who then gave the names of their accomplices, and all of them have been arrested. This incident raises the question, is Apple too careless when it comes to it’s return system? There are some skilled scammers out there, who can make fake iPhone parts look so real it takes the company itself almost or more than, a month to figure out that the parts are fake.

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