Order an iPhone 15 Pro from Apple, instead you get an Android cellphone

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The strangest method of fraud occurred in a man from England. He admitted that he ordered the iPhone 15 Pro directly from the Apple website, but instead received a surprise in the form of an Android cellphone that looked similar to the iPhone.

This story first appeared on Reedit, uploaded by Ed from Surrey, England, via an account with the name “theEdmard”.

Ed claims that after ordering an iPhone from Apple’s website, he received all the standard shipping confirmation emails from Apple. For his iPhone orders, he used the Dynamic Parcel Distribution (DPD) delivery service.

However, once the package arrived, when it was opened, there were several signs that something was wrong. From the initial appearance when opened, you can see that the iPhone 15 Pro is covered in a screen protector, which Apple never even includes on its iPhones.

“The next thing I noticed when I turned it on, the screen wasn’t right, the black areas lit up in a way that was clearly not OLED, and the bottom had a chin, which indicated this wasn’t a proper phone,” wrote Ed, quoted from Tomsguide, Friday (11/17/2023).

As soon as the cellphone is turned on, signs of strangeness become more visible. Some apps, including Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok come pre-installed, something Apple never does.

Ed described the phone setup process as going very badly, where Android toasts (operation-related popups) appeared.

The OS is buggy, the camera is like a slide show and stops when trying to use any UI element on the screen. Most concerning, the battery settings page shows that the device has been used previously.

That’s when Ed concluded that the device he received was an Android phone running modified software to look like Apple’s iOS interface.

“I immediately knew it was a skinned Android device,” he wrote.

Ed, who is COO of cloud software provider AtWrk, said he had contacted Apple and had a chance of a return with Apple support.

He said Apple was very accommodating regarding all incidents that happened to him, but at this time the problem was still not resolved.

Luckily, after finding the cellphone, Ed didn’t log in with his Apple ID. He managed to get through all the settings to get into the phone.

If he enters his Apple ID and password, any fraudster behind the device could have access to his personal and financial information.

Ed’s incident can be a reminder for all of us to be more careful when purchasing technological devices. Be sure to check the new cell phone package thoroughly before entering any personal information or signing for delivery.

(fab/fab)