- Fake AirPods often come to us from China, but even there they have a problem with it
- We will advise you how to distinguish a “fake” from the original just by using your iPhone
Counterfeit electronics are the domain of Chinese markets, from which, however, they are rapidly expanding to other parts of the world, including Europe and the Czech Republic. Police in the Chinese province of Sichuan busted a giant gang of counterfeiters who were exporting fake Apple AirPods headphones.
Chinese AirPods for half a billion
Foreign server Gizmochina cites a police report, according to which law enforcement officers from the city of Sui-ning in Sichuan province seized 69,000 fake headphones, another 45,000 prototypes in progress, four large sets of tools for making fakes, more than 50,000 sets of packaging materials, as well as 10,000 spare parts.
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The place to buy absolutely everything: this is China’s “Smartphone Street”
The police also said that with this passive raid, they stopped a huge network of fraudsters producing and selling goods for 167 million yuan, i.e. almost 532 million crowns. Products from this counterfeiting network were also to be sold in other parts of China, such as Guangdong Province, Shandong in the north and the island province of Hainan.
According to the police, there is no evidence yet that these particular counterfeits have been smuggled and exported beyond the borders of the People’s Republic of China. However, the fact remains that fake electronics are a huge problem in our country as well, that is, everywhere in Europe.
Counterfeits in the Czech Republic – a big problem
However, we have been experiencing our own epidemic of counterfeit electronics for several years in the Czech Republic as well. It is enough to look at Internet advertising servers such as Facebook Marketplace or Bazoš, where headphones of dubious origin are often sold at the price of real ones, bought either directly from Apple or at least from official distribution.
When it comes to distribution, they often appear in credible stores, even though the customer often has no idea about the distribution. A lot of these products look like real AirPods, have the same features, but cost a tenth of the original.
A YouTuber drew attention to the issue of fake AirPods GeekBoy, who ordered a product from the Kaufland.cz e-shop, which the store claimed was AirPods Pro. The design matched, the function as well, but the price was in the order of several hundreds.
If the fake product had the same name and the distributor offered it as the original, it could have caused customer confusion, unfair business practice and in addition, Apple’s intellectual property right was violated. After the video was broadcast, Kaufland responded promptly and removed the product from the offer.
How to recognize a “fake” from the original?
So the question arises: how do you know that a verified store or an advertiser on Bazoš is offering you a fake and not an original? In general, several lessons apply. Be sure to pay attention to the details, how heavy the device is, what quality the manufacturing materials are, and also how the accessory communicates with your phone. For example, if something doesn’t work as it should, it could be a fake.
Did you find AirPods under the tree? If they have serial number JGXLXQGWTG then they are FAKE. Check the authenticity of the headphones and if you have a fake and you bought them as “original”, please write to the pods🎧
Thanks a lot. pic.twitter.com/Rs8KMMApw0
— boy from Prague (@janekrubes) December 27, 2023
AirPods, which are very often victims of counterfeiters, play much better than a counterfeit, which rather corresponds to a price of several hundred crowns. Everyone who had the opportunity to try the original and the fake side by side agrees on this. Unfortunately, even the serial number will not help you, because fraudsters often misuse the numbers of real AirPods and make a whole batch of fake ones for one original number.
However, YouTuber AppleDsign came up with a rather interesting method to verify the authenticity of headphones. Turn on the flashlight on the iPhone and aim it at the lid of the box. Once you see shadows and dark parts, these are parts inside the case and are genuine. You can completely see through the fake headphones, because they don’t have any components in the lid.
Author of the article
Jakub Fischer
Journalist, fan of modern technology, summer months and Asian food. I like Lynch movies, Pollock paintings, french house and Arsenal football club. In my spare time, I play PlayStation and go jogging.
2024-01-31 19:15:00
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