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OREM — A sting in Utah County based on fake iPhones resulted in police arresting a 17-year-old boy who had been selling counterfeit Apple merchandise using online classified ads.
The teen, who has not been identified, was released by police to his family, but he was referred to juvenile court and may face charges. He was cornered in his scam in part by a man identified only as Alex, who had seen a friend of his fall for the same ploy and lose $550 for what ended up being a fake iPhone 6+.
Alex scoured similar online classified ads before finding another by the same seller. He then set up a meeting in the parking lot of an Orem Krispy Kreme store where he knew a police car wouldn’t seem conspicuous. He notified police, who were present for the meeting, which led to the boy being taken into custody.
“He came over to my car and showed me my phone and the case, and it looked legit,” Alex said. “It was in a white box just like any other iPhone.”
But because he knew this same teen had sold his friend a counterfeit iPhone just the day before, he waved waiting police over.
“He did have the iPhone 6+ with him,” Orem City police Lt. Craig Martinez said. “He was selling for $700, and we did in fact find out that both the iPhone 6+ he was selling (Wednesday) and the one he sold the day before were fakes.”
“He came over to my car and showed me my phone and the case, and it looked legit. It was in a white box just like any other iPhone.” -Alex, engineer of the sting
Alex’s friend, the victim of the initial scam, had her $550 returned.
Police say the teen bought the fake phones online for $180, and he was fully aware they were counterfeits. The phones do turn on and appear to work at first glance, but they are not authentic Apple products.
Police recommend inexperienced buyers bring a more informed friend along when buying such technology from an ad. An inspection should take place before cash is handed over, because waiting until getting home leaves open the possibility of a scam.
