A Samsung expert has issued a warning after a Scots mum was conned by Xmas scammers into buying one of the 'worst' fakes he has encountered.
The Record reported earlier on a women from Bailieston who was swindled out of her festive savings by one man when she was trying to buy her son a new high end phone.
The phone bought by Catherine McGill looked, to the untrained eye, identical to the Samsung S22 Ultra she thought she’d bought.
But one Samsung expert we spoke to immediately said the phone was a ver poor-quality fake.
He said: “This is one of the worst – and I’ve seen scores of them.
“The scale of counterfeits is now so bad we expect to see half a dozen people every day after Christmas turning up to get help with their phone only to find out it’s a fake.
“It’s frustrating and sometimes heartbreaking to see innocent people coming in with something they think is worth over £1000, only to find out it’s just tat, worth around £30.
The phones are fitted with Android generic components and can generally work in some fashion but they offer none of the high end functions of a normal Samsung phone.
The expert gave 10 tell-tale signs that immediately sprang out:
1. The box is made out of cheap, thin cardboard and printed words are smaller.
2. A shiny plastic film has been inserted – not part of Samsung packaging.
3. The paint colour is very different and shiny instead of matt.
4. The S Pen Stylus is made out of metal, with crude fake buttons – and it does not have any function.
5. Phone back plate is crudely glued on.
6. The start-up menu should say simply “SAMSUNG” – but this spells out the model name too.
7. Samsung-specific apps – like the Galaxy Store – are not offered on the fake phone’s menu (they only work with Samsung devices).
8. Google Chrome icon is completely different.
9. There is only one camera – instead of four. And it’s a primitive, low-res number with a fraction of the pixelation of the real deal.
10. Lenses for the camera appear to be off centre.
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