Some Canadian citizens are getting a surprise after purchasing their new iPads. Reports from a few consumers around the Vancouver area say that they have been scammed! Excited about their purchases, they tear into the neatly sealed packaging only to reveal a similarly sized hunk of clay where their new Apple product should be.
Best Buy, Future Shop, Walmart, and London Drug have all reported similar returns from customers. Clearly the Merchants (and consumers) have been victimized in a scam to return fake merchandise in for a profit. As many as 25 of these fraudulent devices have been sold in the Vancouver area and more victims have come forward since the break of this story on Monday.
Most of the victims have already been issued refunds however, some consumers report being persecuted at the time of return. Obviously there is always a chance that one of the perpetrators is posing as a legitimate customer. I like to think most sellers would give paying customers the benefit of the doubt even at the cost of a overlooking a few bad apples (no pun intended)
It sounds like it is safe to say, retailers will be inspecting these products more closely at the point of purchase in order to protect themselves and consumers. Still it leaves some asking; why hasn’t this been the policy all along? iPads are not inexpensive devices. Sellers should be checking for damage and also that everything is in order with the packaging from the factory.
Apple has agreed to cooperate in the investigation in any way possible but has not made any specific comments about the incidents. Consumers beware; scams like these are becoming more common in the fast-paced world we live in.
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