By Pascal Oparada
Social Media/Tech Reporter
Two Chinese students, Yangyan Zhou and Quan Jiang, are studying Engineering at the Oregon State University and Linn Benton Community College on student visas in the United States.
However, outside classes, the students engage on nefarious acts and are busy importing smartphones from Hong Kong, which turns out to be fake iPhones.
The students then sent each pack of fake iPhone back to Apple either by mail or in person claiming the phones would not power on. Apple will then send them new, legitimate iPhones as part of a warranty process.
Each of the new and authentic iPhones would now be shipped overseas by the students and sold for a healthy profit, with the shares sent to Jiang’s mother who wires the money back into Jiang’s bank account.
According to a newspaper report, the students were so successful that they defrauded the tech giant to the tune of $895,800, which they started way back in 2017.
Analysts flayed Apple for allowing fake phones to be replaced so easily without going through verification processes. According to them, Apple did not ask for proof of purchase which is required before a warranty could be effected with Apple employees just following procedures.
In total, Apple swapped 1,493 fake iPhones for new ones by the students. They intended to swap 3,069 phones.
Apple has since sent cease and desist order to where the students lived but they were ignored.
The duo is facing criminal charges but is out of police custody. Jiang is facing illegally trafficking goods and frauds and Zhou is accused of illegally exporting goods.
Both deny knowing the phones they sent to Apple were fake.