Beware iPad Floor Tile Scam

News is emerging that there is very clever new scam hitting the streets in which people are fooled into believing they are buying an iPad at a cheap rate.  In actuality they are handing over their hard earned cash for a floor tile, with Apple camouflage.

SFGate reports that scam artists in the Central Valley area are selling people fake iPads that are actually floor tiles with an Apple logo across the back of the tile. The fraudsters have wrapped these tiles in bubble wrap and put them in boxes so that interested people will be fooled into believing that they are a high end tablet, if the person only casually glances at them before buying them. 

The Ceres, CA, Police Dept. have shared photos with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Crime Scene Blog to show the extremes of counterfeiting that criminals will go, to rip off bargain-seeking consumers.

Someone could look at the bubble wrapped tile in a box and be convinced that it is a real iPad covered in bubble wrap. But on closer inspection, you would clearly be able to spot the truth of the matter.

Personally, I only go to an Apple retail store for my Apple products.  It’s the whole experience of traversing the store, having a hands-on play with the kit that you are interested in purchasing.  You get the feel and look of the product, ask questions about it and finally make your choice.  You pay and even set it up in-store as well if you like.  Like I said, it’s the whole Apple experience, which adds to the appeal of the finished product.

On the other hand you have a stranger with an open car trunk at a gas station with a large holdall and a few boxes inside with some bubble wrap, a floor tile, a printed Apple logo on a sheet of paper and a cardboard box. Come on people, don’t be suckers. Even if someone is offering you a cheap and legitimate iPad, it’s probably used, stolen or broken or even both and you should walk away.  Even when you buy from a retail store, unless it’s an official Apple Store or an authorised reseller, then it is no guarantee that you won’t be purchasing garbage, or a fake iPad in an  iPad box.

[Image via consumerist]

SOURCE: http://bgr.com/2014/01/23/ipad-floor-tiles-scam/