Skip to main content

Your local mall kiosk might be carrying fake Apple products

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8s8CmmCzb4]

A news report out of Baltimore demonstrates the level of counterfeit Apple products that are being sold right under our noses in malls, some of which undoubtedly share space with an Apple Store.

Officers said they raided the Cyberion store and the ST Tech Pros kiosk last Friday and recovered hundreds of fake Apple products that were being sold as authentic factory replacements.”These organizations that make these products are using substandard materials. They are doing everything they can to make them look like the real thing,” said Greg Shipley with the Maryland State Police.

While this particular bust may have been an isolated incident, if you’ve been to a US mall in the past few years, you’ve likely seen kiosks with fake Apple products. They are everywhere.

The items recovered from the Baltimore Mall included:

  • 24 iPhones and the colored fronts and backings that go with them
  • Cellphone conversion kits
  • iPhone and iPad covers
  • Apple product ID stickers
  • iPad replacement screens
  • Various internal iPhone parts.
  • Packaging materials, equipment used to design and print those materials
  • Computer equipment believed to be used to clone phones.

“Our investigators believe that they were acting as some type of authorized Apple repair shop and they were taking Apple phones and replacing them with interior parts that were inferior, that were fake, that were not Apple products,” Shipley said.

According to the report, an Apple representative helped with the investigation by confirming that  the products were indeed counterfeit.  The estimated value of all the items was more than $89,000.

A counterfeit Apple AC adapter is believed to be responsible for the electrocution death of a Chinese woman. Apple responded to the situation by offering USB power replacements for people who unknowingly bought counterfeits.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

  1. Bla1ze (@Bla1ze) - 11 years ago

    Does anyone buying a leopard print back for their iPhone ACTUALLY believe they’re really from Apple? lol.

  2. Carlos Bott - 11 years ago

    Sim Lim Square in Singapore…

  3. WolffsFleamarket Share - 11 years ago

    Beware of the high-end popular protective cases (no names mentioned here) and all sorts of multicolored USB chargers, cables and earphones at the kiosks that claim to be Apple or look exactly like Apple (and soon Samsung) packaging or accessories. I have checked them out, even asked for packages to be opened, and they are counterfeit. You can also buy counterfeit designer handbags at mall kiosks. These independently owned or small chain businesses rent space and are unchecked by the their landlords. Independently owned stores can purchase wholesale counterfeits from overseas and sell anything they want, since there is no corporate/big box management standardizing their merchandise.

  4. Robert Rooney - 11 years ago

    I used to explain to customers what ESD was, and that Apple replacement parts and labor had warranty work. And that the guy at the kiosk outside didn’t even have a wrist strap. Plus that we could always tell non-authorized work. 9 out of 10 people would stay in the Apple Store to have their phones repaired or swapped out. Of those that left, most actually came back after seeing how much the guy outside charged.

    • Wrong! You do not have to have a wrist trap on to work on a cell phone! You can use a ESD safe mat or both. And 9 out of 10 people go to other repair shops than Apple. Do you even know how much Apple charges to fix your phone? They don’t, they try to sell you a new one for a discounted price of 199 for 4S, 225 for 5, and people are lucky that Apple does iPhone 5 screen replacements for 150. People that leave the Apple store to go somewhere else to find a price never go back to the Apple store with their phone because Apple charges much more. Working for a repair shop, we use parts with no logos, and tell people, and we make sure they are OEM quality.

  5. Working for a repair shop i hope this does not hurt business.. I am in Maryland and the only thing is if you tell customers that they are not Apple products and you are not Apple oriented they understand and are okay with it 95% of the time. We sell iPhone backs that are only one color and do not have the logo, iPhone name, or writing below that for copyright reasons and we explain that to people, its the same quality part it just is all black or white or blue or whatever color you want. The 5% of people not okay with our parts not having the Apple Logo, etc. is for the backs we sell.

  6. Ha ha lol. Come to Vietnam there’s a lot of them. And China of course