Filed under: iPhone
eBay scammers target iPhone fans
People, people, people. The phone's not shipping yet. It's not out yet. It's not even approved by the FCC! So why -- why on earth -- would anyone with the slightest degree of common sense bid almost one thousand dollars on eBay just for the privilege of getting ripped off? Wow. Thanks to reader David Miller, who took time off from his Mac mini car integration project to give us the heads-up on the sad state of iPhone auctions over eBay way. As the expression goes here in Brooklyn: "Oy."
Update 9am EDT: The original auction has closed, with a winning bid of $1125... *sigh*.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Daniel D said 10:11PM on 3-20-2007
Anyone who buys one of these and then pays for one of these deserves to lose their money imo.
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thomas Malley said 10:21PM on 3-20-2007
One should ask him for the unboxing pictures;)
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Michael Rose said 10:27PM on 3-20-2007
Or redacted copies of the included 2-year Cingular service agreements...
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Rob Gomes said 10:32PM on 3-20-2007
Rather than be cynical, I reported the auction to eBay as fraudulent. Hopefully this will spare some naive buyers from losing out on money, and will have eBay tighten up iPhone auctions like they did for the PS3 and Wii.
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punkassjim said 10:37PM on 3-20-2007
Nearly as bad, myspace has had banner ads for "get your free iphone" promotions since the day after the announcement.
"Supplies are limited!"
No kidding? Huh!
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Rubbinz said 10:41PM on 3-20-2007
Shame on him? Nah. If someone is retarded enough to actually bid on this, they get what they deserve.
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nllx said 11:43PM on 3-20-2007
Item location: La Quinta, CA, United States
Holy crap, I can actually go to that person's house and kick their ass, if I find the exact address.
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mettmann said 11:49PM on 3-20-2007
also reported to eBay as fraudulent...
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LC said 12:10AM on 3-21-2007
Can someone bid it up to a few thousand bucks and yank that guys chain. Ask him to send something of value before you pay?
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Neuromancer said 3:26AM on 3-21-2007
There were a same scam on a hungarian auction site too, i pointed out it yesterday, and it's gone today :)
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Jason said 5:09AM on 3-21-2007
Another one Item number: 250096401244
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Chris said 5:15AM on 3-21-2007
I believe cisco released a sort of IP telephony device called the iPhone, so the scammer might be trying to pawn one of those off on you for a sweet chunk of change. If you bid on these anyway, you deserve to be shot with a cannon at point blank range.
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heimtommy said 6:18AM on 3-21-2007
Hey,
I found some iPhones as well on eBay, and I wrote to the guy, who promised to ship an ORIGINAL iPhone for $250, saying he got a lot of them as promotion - sure thing.
Here is his reply:
The price for one unit is 200 Euro including the shipping fees and
insurance. The phones is brand new, UNLOCKED, with all accesories
(Adapter, Cable, Battery, Car Charger, Case, Holder, Faceplate,
Housing, Headset, Memory, Software, Wall Charger). With standard
global warranty (2 years).
Let me know if you agree my prices..if you don`t..let me know your
best offert..we have a PROMOTIONAL offert: you buy 3 phones + 1 free
for only 550 Euro you will receive one phone gift (you can also
combine the models and the price remains the same). I will lock
business only under my conditions.
Thank you...
P.S.
The price for 10 phones is 1400 Euro including all shipping taxes.
I hope no one falls for these mo'fos...
Wait until June...
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lee said 6:48AM on 3-21-2007
you really have to be a complete ass to fall for that...
similar subject - being "get rich off the iphone" check this guy out
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mac-iPhone-Domain-URL-for-Sale-www-used-iphones-com_W0QQitemZ120098709122QQcategoryZ102333QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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Sam G. said 9:02AM on 3-21-2007
Michael, as a born-and-rasied, Brooklynite, I applaud your use of Yiddish; however, a more appropriate phrase might be "oy, gevalt!"
Though based on the accompanying picture, "rubble rubble" could also work.
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justflie said 9:16AM on 3-21-2007
I reported those listings for the iPhone as fraudulent also. That's so ridiculous!
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GadgetGav said 9:30AM on 3-21-2007
I reported this one to ebay which has now been ended early because of "an error in the listing"
http://cgi.ebay.com/APPLE-iPHONE-4GB-BNIB-THIS-IS-NOT-A-PREORDER-AUCTION_W0QQitemZ170093231449QQcategoryZ102333QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Do you like the fake box and instructions the guy went to the bother of making..!?!!!
I tend to agree that it's really buyer beware on ebay. If you buy something that is not available from someone with zero feedback that costs hundreds of dollars, you probably need a full time nanny to protect you from the big bad world. That said, the good ebay users should report these scams, but they'll never go away.
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Mark said 9:41AM on 3-21-2007
Some of the iPhone auctions are absolutely pitiful - blatant ripoffs aside, some of the "hot new iPhone domain addresses!!!!" and "hot rare GET IT NOW!!!" iPhone related email addresses up for auction are a joke.
Anyone stupid enough to fall for the iPhone auctions is a few french fries short of a happy meal.
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Mark said 9:44AM on 3-21-2007
Ok, auction 180098963510 is a riot.
A cardboard box with an iPhone sticker on it.
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GadgetGav said 2:27PM on 3-21-2007
The one that I reported, the guy is now claiming that he's been told he can't sell them until they get FCC clearance...
Yeah, like people selling unreleased hardware on ebay really care about what the FCC says...
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