[Gh0stRider]

just saw this on the news

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120116/bc_steele_clay_ipad_120116/20120116?hub=BritishColumbia

Retail giants Future Shop and Best Buy have launched a major fraud investigation involving Apple iPad 2s, after as many as 10 fake models made of modelling clay were sold in Metro Vancouver retail stores.

Future Shop said it appears scam artists bought the popular tablet computers with cash, replaced them with bags of clay and then resealed the boxes and returned them to the store.

The fake tablets were then put back on the shelves and sold to other unsuspecting customers.

"Customers don't expect to receive this kind of product from Future Shop, so it's a very serious matter and something we are addressing right away for anyone who has been impacted," spokesperson Elliott Chun said.

Mark Sandhu thought he bought a $620 iPad 2 for his wife for Christmas, but they received a nasty surprise at the family gift opening on Christmas Eve when they realized there was no computer in the box.

Sandhu said initially his wife Sundeep thought the clay, flattened into the shape of an iPad and housed inside a Ziploc baggie, was actually a protective layer over their new pricey present.

"My wife was excited when she saw this, [saying] ‘oh my God they take care of their stuff,' and then we saw this …and that kind of threw us off a little," Sandhu said, adding that there was also a clay cube where the charger should be in the box.

"I was shocked. I did not expect this from Future Shop. When you purchase something from there you expect the product to be there," he said.

Worried that other consumers were at risk, Sandhu brought the fake product back to the downtown Vancouver location on Boxing Day. But he said he was treated like a criminal by the female manager.

"Maybe the way I was dressed, I don't know," he said. "She made me feel like I'm trying to scam them out of $700. I was the one getting scammed."

Sandhu said he contacted Future Shop head office, Apple and even local police but no one would listen to his story.

It was only after he contacted CTV's Steele on Your Side that Sandhu received a response from the company.

Future Shop said the Surrey man was not the only B.C. consumer who had been ripped off. The company is investigating up to 10 similar cases in Metro Vancouver at Future Shop and Best Buy locations.

Chun would not say which stores the fake devices were sold from. He also would not touch the fake iPad during the CTV interview on the advice of the store lawyer, who warned about leaving fingerprints.

"It really saddens Future Shop to know that people stoop to this type of level to be opportunistic and make money in this sort of organized way," said Chun, who said the company first learned about the fakes in early January.

Sandhu said he's learned a tough lesson, and will never leave a store without opening the package to see what's inside.

"I know better from now on. I don't care what I purchase -- I'm not going back to Future Shop, that's for sure," he said.

Sandhu and his wife have received an apology from the company plus a full refund. They also received a new iPad 2 as compensation for their troubles.

[murd0c]

Old news this was talked about on RS a couple weeks back:fuckthatshit:

[carisear]

please post link to original source. thanks!

[Jegz]

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ldp3jukzHo1qb9a2wo1_500.png

[donjalapeno]

i hate how they call ipad's "computers"

[JesseBlue]

^ i dont think it was funny...

[murd0c]

please post link to original source. thanks!

If you are talking about it on RS post 34 Jan9th

http://www.revscene.net/forums/660954-bought-ps3-game-best-buy-its-empty-2.html

[TheKingdom2000]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ImageShrinker?http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20120116/470_bc_clayipad_120113.jpg,470,264

[Jegz]

^ i dont think it was funny...

Its fucking hilarious

[twitchyzero]

is it just sticker seal on hard paper cardboard? i'm surprised $500+ products like these don't have security seals....but shit you can probably duplicate/find fake ones online for that too

it's really sad no one believed their story to begin with...but serves the wife for being stupid for thinking clay is part of the packaging LOL

[tiger_handheld]

I thought FS/BB any "big box" store would open before returning to ensure all contents were there.

[hongy]

I don't think they open if the product is still sealed.

[ziggyx]

I once paid for an xbox elite but when I opened the box I got the regular xbox..I was pretty choked. Luckily the manager at the Best Buy let me exchange it. It might have something to do with the serial number on the xbox being scanned and put on the receipt which allowed them to believe that I wasn't scamming them, but I'm not completely sure?

Anyway, lesson learned, I never leave the store until I open the box to make sure everything is good now.

[tonyvu]

My friend works for apple and he says people return Ipads made of clay..... it was wierd

[ImportPsycho]

so people who bought real ipad2 can go out get some clays and claim they've been scammed?

[jeedee]

so people who bought real ipad2 can go out get some clays and claim they've been scammed?

Well, they have to be able to get shrink wrapping aswell.

Please don't tell me you're going to claim you got scammed lol

[ImportPsycho]

Well, they have to be able to get shrink wrapping aswell.

Please don't tell me you're going to claim you got scammed lol

BB/FS better pull all their stock off the floor.
Tomorrow, people are going to go buy ipad2 and stop by Michaels store on their way ROFL

[BaoTurbo]

Shrink wrap is easy to get access to and since it's sealed, you're not going to open it, check it, and then seal it back up.

I used to work for a video card company that puts their cards on Best buy and Future Shop shelves, and well when people return things for warranty and such, sometimes it's not really what it seems or you end up with extras like screwdrivers, adapters, and other retarded things people put back in it. By far, Future Shop has the highest video card return rate and I can probably guess they lose big bucks for not checking things enough.

[Mr.C]

I believe they were returned sealed. No suspicion. Oops.

[Mr.HappySilp]

I guess thats why u buy it from apply store coz at least they will update it to the latest firemware while u are there. So if it is fake you can exchange for a new one lol.

It was funny I got an ipad2 cover from FS and went to refund it a few days later. The lady at the cashier was checking it for like 5mins to make sure there are no stratches or anything @@.

[donjalapeno]

Well, they have to be able to get shrink wrapping aswell.

Please don't tell me you're going to claim you got scammed lol

:pokerface:

no.....of....course.....not

[cococly]

I thought FS/BB any "big box" store would open before returning to ensure all contents were there.


I don't think they open if the product is still sealed.

I work for FutureShop. We started to check every Apple product before accepting the returns, especially on those who paid cash.

[ForbiddenX]

When I was working at bestbuy, a customer bought a Macbook Pro and came back to te store because when he opened it, it was one of those 500 pack sheets of paper. They replaced it for him since they could tell he wasn't bsing.

[jeedee]

How could they tell he wasn't bsing? :suspicious:

[subordinate]

nvm, read wrong.

[swfk]

When I was working at bestbuy, a customer bought a Macbook Pro and came back to te store because when he opened it, it was one of those 500 pack sheets of paper. They replaced it for him since they could tell he wasn't bsing.

How could they tell he wasn't bsing? :suspicious:

MythBusters lie detector - YouTube

:troll:

[Greenstoner]

"Mark Sandhu thought he bought a $620 iPad 2 for his wife for Christmas, but they received a nasty surprise at the family gift opening on Christmas Eve when they realized there was no computer in the box"


I actually lol'd coz imagine if that was a real troll prank to your wife/gf hahahha

[StaxBundlez]

:considered:

[hotjoint]

My friend returned a sealed blackberry playbook to Walmart, they took it without inspecting it.

He returned another one to best buy, they opened it and checked it thoroughly. Is it true that they have to sell as open box after that or can they reseal and sell as new? I've heard both.

[twitchyzero]

once the seal is opened it's supposed to go back to manufacturer/sold as open box.

[The_AK]

My friend returned a sealed blackberry playbook to Walmart, they took it without inspecting it.

He returned another one to best buy, they opened it and checked it thoroughly. Is it true that they have to sell as open box after that or can they reseal and sell as new? I've heard both.

sold as open box unless item is defective
(former bb employee)

[InvisibleSoul]

I don't think they open if the product is still sealed.
Most places do now for these exact reasons. They know it sucks to open a supposedly brand new product, but with thieves now taking the product out and shrink wrapping it again to make it look unopened, they have no choice but to be diligent.

It's not a good situation for retailers, that's for sure. Even if they "catch" a scammer and open the iPad when it was returned, the scammer can just pretend to be as shocked as they are and claim he never opened it. It's not going to be easy for the store to prove they took the item, instead of it coming that way.

[jackmeister]

does future shop record the serial number on the invoices like memory express?

[shawnly1000]

"Walmart and London Drugs say that fake Apple iPad 2s made of clay are also appearing on their store shelves, a day after electronic giants Future Shop and Best Buy revealed they are launching a major fraud investigation into the scam."

Fake iPad 2s hit more major retailers | CTV British Columbia (http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120117/bc_steele_more_ipad_fraud_120117/20120117/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome)

[Durrann]

When scammers return fake iPads
They get paid back in cash ?
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[hongy]

You only get paid in cash if you purchased in cash. So now it's more like, buy an ipad in cash, return it, get cash back and you have an ipad to sell.

[Durrann]

You only get paid in cash if you purchased in cash. So now it's more like, buy an ipad in cash, return it, get cash back and you have an ipad to sell.

Yeaaahhhh so if u were cashier u would be a little suspicious eh
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[Psykopathik]

time to start weighing the returns on a scale.

[InvisibleSoul]

time to start weighing the returns on a scale.

I thought that was a pretty good idea, actually... but now I think that the scammers are smart enough to probably try making the fake product weigh near the same as the real thing.

[hotjoint]

Since this is all over the news now, what if the thieves buy the ipads now and bring them back filled with clay claiming that they bought them like that?. How would someone prove that they are/aren't lying? This could potentially be really bad.

[Eff-1]

The guy in that CTV video has quite the attractive wife!

[Mr.HappySilp]

Not sure if this is doable for FS/BEST BUY.... but when I got my ipad2 from Apply store they let me open it in front of them, do all the updates for me etc etc..... so that way I know what I bring home is a working ipad.

[ae101]

well i was gonna just buy a fake ipad in china & then replace it with the real one, but this seems like a better deal for sure

[InvisibleSoul]

Not sure if this is doable for FS/BEST BUY.... but when I got my ipad2 from Apply store they let me open it in front of them, do all the updates for me etc etc..... so that way I know what I bring home is a working ipad.
Damn, I thought I had replied to this yesterday...

Anyways, it's one thing for them to let you open it in front of them, it's another thing for them to force you to it.

As a regular consumer, it certainly benefits you to open it in front of them to avoid a situation just like the iPad situation, but there's no way a store can force you to open the item. What if it's a gift for someone?

[Mr.HappySilp]

^^ true but at least for ppl who are buying for personal use it safer that way.

Same with how EB Sell games now. They take the Game disc out of the box and store it in their canbiet when u buy the game they give the disc to you, and the seal it back to the box. If you do refund it, they open the box again to check the disc.

[dboy]

Thinking about buying a brand new iPhone 4s on craigslist but this thread has me paranoid.

[mb_]

^There's some precautions you can take.. open it, inspect and test the device, meet up in a public place, etc.

I was a victim of stolen goods before so I try to use Revscene or something similar for bigger purchases (phones, camera, etc)

[Mr.HappySilp]

^^ iphone 4s would be different coz if it is reported stolen the IEMI# goes on some kind of list and that phone can never be use again.

http://www.revscene.net/forums/604311-*just-heads-up*-buying-used-phones.html

[dboy]

^There's some precautions you can take.. open it, inspect and test the device, meet up in a public place, etc.

I was a victim of stolen goods before so I try to use Revscene or something similar for bigger purchases (phones, camera, etc)

If I buy an unopened iPhone 4s, open it and test it out before I buy it, and everything seems good.
It can still be bricked in the future if it gets reported stolen correct?

[mb_]

^^ iphone 4s would be different coz if it is reported stolen the IEMI# goes on some kind of list and that phone can never be use again.

http://www.revscene.net/forums/604311-*just-heads-up*-buying-used-phones.html

If I buy an unopened iPhone 4s, open it and test it out before I buy it, and everything seems good.
It can still be bricked in the future if it gets reported stolen correct?

If I remember correctly, doesn't it only get bricked/locked/etc. if it's reported stolen from stores/distribution centers or something similar?

[Mr.HappySilp]

LOL let's see if anyone will do this with the new iPad 3.......

[twitchyzero]

dont think anyone's stupid enough to pull this shit when rcmp have already investigated it

[european]

This is crazy!

[Benz_05TSX]

This is an old trick... I heard people way back bought TVs and PS3 and other electronics and replaced it with rocks or clay or whatever. Future Shop should've known better

[Psykopathik]

http://cdn.hotnewsonglyrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Jay-Z-Ft.-Kanye-West-Otis-Lyrics.jpg

'Dem bitches be clay!