2,000 Fake iPhones Seized
Customs officers in San Francisco confiscated a shipment of 2,000 iPhoneys they estimate to be worth $1.2 million.
The faux iPhones flew in via Taiwan before being ferreted out by customs agents on March 9.
They must have been pretty good fakes it took about a month to verify that they were, in fact, fraudulent.
A video from local ABC station show some pretty heavy-handed knock-offs sans Apple logo on the back.
One of the tip-offs: the almost-iPhones had a sliding back cover to remove the battery while on the real deal, the battery compartment is sealed.
Customs officer Ed Low told newspapers he thought the phones could fetch $600, without a service contract.
That strikes me as a little overblown: the last fake iPhone a friend of mine bought over eBay cost about $80, (60 euros) though it was a pretty chintzy copy.
Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco native who has lived in Milan and Florence, Italy. She's written for Wired.com, The New York Times and Newsweek. You can find her on ![Read "From Your iPhone, With Love: Thank You Pen Does What Cards App Can’t [Feature]"](http://www.cultofmac.com/wp-content/plugins/lazy-load/images/1x1.trans.gif "Read \"From Your iPhone, With Love: Thank You Pen Does What Cards App Can’t [Feature]\"")
