# iPad scam at Futureshop



## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

*Canadian Shoppers Scammed Into Buying iPads Made of Clay*



> Apple’s iPad is often a target for scams, but Canadian scam artists who targeted a Future Shop store have taken things to the next level by replacing iPads with clay replicas in the original retail packaging.





> ...the scam artists bought the iPads with cash, replaced them with clay, resealed them in their original boxes (shrink wrap and all), and then returned them to the stores for a full refund.


(CTV _via_ MacTrast)


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

Calling that a "replica" is pretty generous...


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## Joker Eh (Jan 22, 2008)

His first problem was shopping at Future Shop.


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## Ottawaman (Jan 16, 2005)

New at FS, the Stone Tablet featuring Moses 10.0


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Wow!  Sucks to be the customer who got a iPad of clay. Like to have seen how that first return to Future Shop went. 

Customer: "Hi, I just bought this shrink-wrap sealed iPad, but when I opened it, it had this clay in it." 

SalesClerk: "Um... let me get my manager..."

Retails theft is pretty common, and I know that one of the biggest methods is through the returns counter. This is pretty brazen though.


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## dwp (Aug 12, 2003)

Years ago I bought a Playstation 2 at Walmart and had to return it. The box was unopened and factory sealed. The lady at the returns counter went over the box with a fine tooth comb, then paged someone in electronics to come and do the same! The whole return procedure took 20 minutes.
When I asked why the scrutiny on an obviously brand-new, factory sealed item the woman replied that a customer had returned a tv the previous week and Walmart staff later discovered that the television in the "factory sealed" box had been replaced with a pumpkin!


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

*Fraudsters swapped iPad2s with clay in B.C.*

Fake iPad 2s hit more major retailers | CTV News



> *Fake iPad 2s hit more major retailers*
> 
> Darcy Wintonyk, ctvbc.ca
> 
> ...


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## Joker Eh (Jan 22, 2008)

Already on site http://www.ehmac.ca/all-ios-iphone-ipad-ipod-touch-apple-tv-itunes/98937-ipad-scam-futureshop.html


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

Aahh. Didn't venture into that Forum and it didn't come up in my search for 'Fraud'.


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## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

gmark2000 said:


> Aahh. Didn't venture into that Forum and it didn't come up in my search for 'Fraud'.


You didn't venture in to the iPad Forum to post something about, an iPad?


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

In fairness, that pumpkin could have been a horse and carriage just prior.



dwp said:


> Years ago I bought a Playstation 2 at Walmart and had to return it. The box was unopened and factory sealed. The lady at the returns counter went over the box with a fine tooth comb, then paged someone in electronics to come and do the same! The whole return procedure took 20 minutes.
> When I asked why the scrutiny on an obviously brand-new, factory sealed item the woman replied that a customer had returned a tv the previous week and Walmart staff later discovered that the television in the "factory sealed" box had been replaced with a pumpkin!


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

HowEver said:


> In fairness, that pumpkin could have been a horse and carriage just prior.


Whomp whomp.


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## KC4 (Feb 2, 2009)

HowEver said:


> In fairness, that pumpkin could have been a horse and carriage just prior.


Hah! 
Linus would be horrified. It was The Great Pumpkin.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

It wasn't just future shop, it was every major retailer in the lower mainland. FS got hit the worst, but I know from friends that it happened at Best Buy, Wal Mart and London Drugs as well. It was a fairly coordinated attack!


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## Dennis Nedry (Sep 20, 2007)

[deleted]


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

Not to make light of an unhappy situation (though I'll bet those stores have learned a lesson about marking returns as "new"!), but I heard those clay iPads only ran Adobe apps.

And they are easily bricked.

You pay for them not out of your work account but from your play-dough.

If you leave it in the sun it runs Rosetta Stone.

The only movie it lists is "The Ten Commandments."

This one doesn't come with a stylus, it comes with a chisel!

Thank you, I'll be here all week!


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## voolger (Jan 22, 2012)

people go quite the length to get what they want i.e. replace an ipad with clay. sad enough for some people who experience the bad end of this game and struggle with retail stores for a refund.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

voolger said:


> people go quite the length to get what they want i.e. replace an ipad with clay. sad enough for some people who experience the bad end of this game and struggle with retail stores for a refund.


From the other side of the desk I can tell you that for everyone like this I've seen that's legitimate? There's been 2 dozen scammers trying to bring back empty boxes. I've seen phone books in laptop boxes, planks of wood in component boxes, and once a cinder block on an iMac box even.

This is why someone trying to bring back a piece of clay is met with a hard time, and why I'll admit I've never had great service from FS or BB, I'm not really happy with the "THEY TREATED ME LIKE A CRIMINAL" type stories that have been in every article so far about the situation. I kind of have to sympathize with the poor sales/service guys who thought it was just another scam.


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

Real or fake? ...


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

Lawrence said:


> Real or fake? ...


Is that a serious question?


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

I have lived as far from the big city as possible for much of my adult life. One habit I got into early on was opening purchases on the spot and making sure they were functional.

Has saved me more than one trip back to the city to replace flawed merchandise. Would certainly have made things easier for the people that bought the bricks.


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## Kimchiboy (Nov 23, 2008)

I've never thought of opening my purchases at the till. I like ordering direct from Apple anyway. Refurbs are the way to go.


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