IPhone X’s missing fro, boxes upon delivery

[mcdj]

The only value to a stolen virgin iPhone is the ability to sell to some poor sucker on Craigslist. He shows up with the cash, he is able to power on the units and shows they are not even activated yet, boom drops the cash and gets a sad sick feeling when he tries to activate them..
Let this be a lesson folks, never buy a device off the internet. You'll be stuck with a 1000 brick, you wife will leave you, depression sets in and you hit the bottle hard.. The money you spent on the phones was supposed to go to rent, so you loose your cheap crappy apartment and find yourself performing sex acts in alleys for wine money.. It's the same old story, I've seen in a dozen times.. Hope the scammers are happy. We were trying to start a family..

I laughed. I cried. I could dance to it. 5 stars.

 

[Joelparker1988]

This has always been a fear of mine, which is one reason why I chose to try my luck with a carrier store for the iPhone 6 launch. I ended up properodering the iPhone 7 and iPhone X, but this scenario repeatedly crossed my mind. Please let us know what Apple does to resolve this issue.

Thank you - I will certainly update you once I hear. I wish I had chosen to collect from store, but I suppose hindsight is a wonderful thing.

 

[mcdj]

I think your only hope is if you paid with a credit card, preferably an Amex.

 

[44267547]

Stealing an iPhone in today's world is actually rather pointless. The only thing a criminal can do with an iPhone is either sell it as a new device to some unsuspecting customer who has no idea the device is stolen or they sell it for parts online. Because the iPhone will not be operable once Apple blacklists it altogether. (Unless the iPhone was shipped out of the country/over sea's in some cases).

 

[fischersd]

Stealing an iPhone in today's world is actually rather pointless. The only thing a criminal can do with an iPhone is either sell it as a new device to some unsuspecting customer who has no idea the device is stolen or they sell it for parts online. Because the iPhone will not be operable once Apple blacklists it altogether. (Unless the iPhone was shipped out of the country/over sea's in some cases).

I think the GSMA is getting stickier all the time that all carriers should be using their database...so I think the days of stolen devices working in X country are quickly coming to an end (if they haven't already).

 

[Diorama]

Nope. I have my doubts. The entire thing seems kinda fishy. Delivery issues, having to go to the depot. I've watched a dozen unbox videos, they have cellophane around the boxes, not tabs. Even virgin phones are worthless to steal. Apple will blacklist the imei.

“I’ve watched a dozen unboxing videos, they have cellophane..” that’s cute mate, but you’re wrong, so maybe butt out here?
I bought an iPhone X and it had a new packaging, unlike my 4S, 5S, 6 and 6S which all had sealed cellophane, the C had a tabbed plastic wrap which would be pretty easy to re-wrap and look untampered with.

 

[AaronM5670]

1kg seems about right.. an iphone X is 174 grams, 2 is 348g, plus add the packaging and you'd near 1kg.

I really hope this ends good for you, because honestly I'd be really concerned. I'm going to go into lawyer-mode for a second so bare with me. You have no way of proving that the phones weren't in the package. Once you picked it up from the depot, they will say you could have went around the corner, took the phones out, repackaged it, and started a complaint that the phones were missing. This is an eBay scam that's been used for years.

The only thing I can think of is that Apple can blacklist the phones. However, I don't know if they will give you replacement phones. If the packaging was upside down, someone through the process clearly opened the package and re-packaged it after taking the phones.

The serial number of the phone is printed on the sticker on the back of the box. So I'm sure Apple will be able to check what happened somehow, through the activation status of the phone.

 

[mattysmith118]

Evening All,



on Friday 3rd November I was awaiting delivery of two iPhone X’s. After numerous delivery problems throughout the day I finally drove to the depot at 6pm to collect my parcel, as they had tried to attempt delivery at an incorrect address.



When I arrived home I was absolutely shocked to find both iPhone boxes were MISSING THE PHONES AND CHARGERS. I could not believe they had been delivered and there were no phones inside of the boxes. The packaging externally and internally seemed un-damaged and I can’t see any evidence of tampering.



Has anyone ever experienced this? I am still awaiting replacements from Apple, which is unacceptable In my opinion!



any feedback would be appreciated.



Joel

Did you think someone was trolling you at first?

 

[mcdj]

Stealing an iPhone in today's world is actually rather pointless. The only thing a criminal can do with an iPhone is either sell it as a new device to some unsuspecting customer who has no idea the device is stolen or they sell it for parts online. Because the iPhone will not be operable once Apple blacklists it altogether. (Unless the iPhone was shipped out of the country/over sea's in some cases).

Pointless? Thieves tend not to have very liberal return policies. They couldn't care less if the buyer finds out they can't activate the phone. They get their money and they disappear. The incentive to steal an iPhone is completely intact regardless of activation locks.

 

[44267547]

Pointless? Thieves tend not to have very liberal return policies. They couldn't care less if the buyer finds out they can't activate the phone. They get their money and they disappear. The incentive to steal an iPhone is completely intact regardless of activation locks.

You Seem to be missing the point behind my post, nor am I referring to online sales. If a seller (Criminal) sells a stolen, brand new sealed iPhone in the box, they have the money and they run. When that owner takes that device to activate it, they won't be able to activate it because it's been blacklisted. Take the example of the 300 iPhone X's stolen last week, those iPhones will be shipped overseas or they will be sold locally in the box brand new for cash in hand, which will ultimately be a transaction That can't be traced.

 

[JPack]

The plastic outer wrap can be resealed with ease.

Unless you're a professional scalper who has seen the difference between a virgin wrap and a resealed wrap, most people can't tell the difference. The glue will be slightly foggier.

The other way to check without opening is to use a neodymium magnet outside the box near the earpiece. Once again, this requires experience knowing the position and force.

But even then, many scalpers would prefer to open the box. It's the safest method.

 

[myscrnnm]

The plastic outer wrap can be resealed with ease.

Unless you're a professional scalper who has seen the difference between a virgin wrap and a resealed wrap, most people can't tell the difference. The glue will be slightly foggier.

The other way to check without opening is to use a neodymium magnet outside the box near the earpiece. Once again, this requires experience knowing the position and force.

But even then, many scalpers would prefer to open the box. It's the safest method.

It's even easier now because the iPhone X box is not shrink wrapped. They use the same plastic with adhesive that you find on the actual devices inside.

 

[JPack]

It's even easier now because the iPhone X box is not shrink wrapped. They use the same plastic with adhesive that you find on the actual devices inside.

That's the type of wrap I'm referring to in my post.

Shrink wrap can be re-shrink wrapped. This resealable plastic wrap is difficult to duplicate but requires very careful attention to the glued edges. The buyer needs to know the difference in optical clarity between a virgin seal and re-adhered seal, which is basically impossible for the general public.

If I didn't know someone who bought and sold hundreds of these, there no way I would be skilled either.

 

[bruinsrme]

Member since yesterday and story casts no suspicion on my behalf

 

[oneteam]

if you have the original boxes, then you have the serial numbers. Have you looked them up to see if they activated the iPhones? Have you provided the serial numbers to Apple?

 

[mcdj]

if you have the original boxes, then you have the serial numbers. Have you looked them up to see if they activated the iPhones? Have you provided the serial numbers to Apple?

Apple would already have the serial numbers from the shipping manifest.