On Friday, a woman in Anhui Province in East China received a package with a box of apple-flavored yogurt in place of the iPhone she bought online. The woman recorded a video about it and spread it on Weibo, gaining wide attention. She spent 10,999 Yuan (RM6,877.37) on an iPhone 12 Pro Max (256GB) on Apple’s official online store.
According to the woman, surnamed Liu, the courier put the parcel in the locker in her residential community. It appears to be a theft case and an investigation has been launched.
The viral nature of the incidence sparked speculations among Weibo users.
“I think it might be courier company employees who replaced the iPhone,” a Weibo user wrote. He noted his similar experience days earlier – he received an empty shoebox after buying a pair of limited-edition shoes on Nike’s official shopping site.
However, some guessed that Liu might have fallen victim to a fake site instead of Apple’s official one. Legal expert Zhang Bo did not rule out the possibility of organized fraud cases on scam websites.
However, there are other possibilities of someone substituting the iPhone during the delivery process, which means every courier staff in contact with the batch is a suspect. If the fault is on Apple’s behalf then she may ask for compensation. But if it happens during delivery, then the culprit will face punishment.
Zhang advised online shoppers to be more cautious in the future and check the validity of the website. Usage of internet security is highly important especially when it comes to items of high value.
Source: Globaltimes, Apple Insider