Fake iPhone parts dealer arrested in China

Most countries have a certain ‘fake goods’ market, where one would be able to pick out items that look like the original, but are of inferior quality and not manufactured by the original company. Now however, a new racket has been uncovered where iPhone distributors in China have been arrested after conning Apple with fake components. The con involved supplying fake components to the smartphone manufacturer, so that they could be used in refurbished models and sold as genuine items. The replacement parts reportedly cost over USD 64,000.

In an online statement, police from the Lucheng district in China’s Wenzhou city, said that five suspects have been arrested in connection with the fake-part scam. Apple reported that it was receiving fake components from a distributer in Wenzhou, after which the police investigated the issue.

The scam was orchestrated and planned out in such a way that incorrect faulty part calls were made to Apple, for which the iPhone manufacturer was expected to send out genuine replacements. Around 121 iPhone 4S BAND parts were registered to be faulty according to a Chinese dealer. However, there was nothing wrong with the phones and a genuine serial number was added on fake faulty parts from various iPhone 4S devices, which were then sent to Apple for replacement.