Imported “gray” iPhones can easily be blocked, hacked, refused to repair or even sold not smartphones, but air.
As we already wrote, the United States recently adopted another package of sanctions against Russia, according to which high-tech equipment worth more than $300 cannot be supplied to the Russian Federation. The main danger is fraught with Apple smartphones, which can be blocked remotely at any time if it turns out that the iPhone is activated in Russia in circumvention of sanctions. To avoid this, lovers of the “apple” brand go to various tricks, risking stumbling into scammers. Focus tried to figure out what the Russians have to go to get the coveted iPhone.
Activate iPhone abroad
As the Russian edition of Izvestia writes, Apple smartphones activated outside the country have already appeared in Russian stores. Suppliers from neighboring countries unpack smartphones, insert a local SIM card and activate the device. Then the iPhone is packed back and sold to Russia. Thus, on Apple servers, such a device passes as “foreign” and the risk of blocking is zero. After all, Apple is unlikely to decide to massively block smartphones that were activated somewhere in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates or Kazakhstan, and then a couple of weeks later their owner began to use a Russian SIM card.
However, even here Apple can complicate the life of lovers of “parallel” imports. For example, a company may require both a SIM card and an Apple ID account to be activated outside of Russia at the same time. In this case, the iPhone in the full sense of the word will turn into a piece goods and the sale of devices in Russia will become the lot of small firms that will work directly with the customer. The buyer will be forced to provide the seller with personal data from the account in order for the seller to insert a foreign SIM card and enter an Apple ID login / password, activating the device.
Apple can block Russian smartphones at any time
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Photo: Social networks
If Apple decides to take such a step, then the supply of “gray” iPhones activated abroad will drop sharply, because it is unlikely that a major supplier will deal with double activation. And the buyer is unlikely to risk his Apple ID account, which gives access to documents and photos in the cloud and payment systems.
However, until this happens, the supply of smartphones activated abroad will only grow, local analysts assure. We are talking about small and medium-sized suppliers who can offer batches ranging from 100 to 1000 pieces. They do not want to lose the contract with Apple, which requires them to have a certain level of sales, and there are still many people in Russia who are eager to get an “apple” gadget, despite the fact that the more complex the supply chain, the more expensive each device costs. On average, “gray” Apple smartphones have risen in price in Russia by $150, and prices will continue to rise if sanctions become more difficult to bypass.
iPhone “hit the wallet” – sales are falling
There are enough people who want to get a prestigious smartphone in Russia in large cities, but in general, iPhone sales have fallen significantly across the country. They decreased by 60% (by 400 thousand pieces) compared to 2021. One of the main reasons is the decrease in the income of the population outside the metropolitan areas, experts say. There, the conditional “refrigerator” has long defeated the “TV”, and the price of Apple products has increased due to the increased number of intermediaries in the supply chain.
In Russia, the iPhone has risen in price by $150 on average
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Photo: Social networks
Another reason: the reluctance of many large suppliers to fall under secondary sanctions. Large distributors do not want to engage in “gray” imports and expose themselves to the risk of losing business with Apple, shifting these risks to medium and small suppliers. After all, if the supply of smartphones is large and traceable, then Apple will quickly understand who sold its goods to Russia in circumvention of sanctions.
An important reason is the blocking of Apple’s proprietary services for Russian users. Not everyone wants to pay fabulous money for a smartphone that does not allow them to pay at the checkout via NFC or does not allow getting directions using Apple maps.
And one more factor: the constant risk of getting a “brick” as a result, because it is not clear what steps Apple will decide on blocking tomorrow, and no one will return the money to the buyer. Therefore, the share of Chinese smartphones in the Russian market has grown to 75%, while iPhone shipments have decreased to 7%.
Fake receipt iPhone warranty repair
A new service has appeared on RuNet on websites with ads and in Telegram channels: the sale of checks from an iPhone for 1,000 rubles. The service is very popular, because when purchasing a smartphone abroad, the user, if possible, wants to receive a repair guarantee provided by large local retail chains.
Sometimes such a scam succeeds, but in most cases, large stores enter the IMEI of the smartphone they sold, and if this data is not in the database, then warranty repairs are denied. There is no need to talk about an international guarantee – a smartphone bought in Russia does not fall under it.
Buying receipts from iPhone is popular
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Photo: Screenshot
However, many people try to buy a check for two more reasons: to increase the resale value of a used device (it is always more pleasant for a buyer to receive a “legitimate” smartphone) and to be able to unlock an iPhone if they lose their Apple ID account password. Sometimes it is possible to get a device purchased before the imposition of sanctions from Apple technical support if you provide a check.
Activation of scammers
In the Russian segment of Telegram, a lot of channels have appeared offering “confiscated iPhones” at fabulous prices (10 times cheaper than in a store). Moreover, scammers are not too lazy to engage in the theft of personal data and form “real purchase reviews” using information from accounts of real users. The good old spam mailing on the topic “You have become the winner of the contest” is also used.
Fraudsters step up their attempts to rob gullible Russians
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Photo: Screenshot
Of course, you can get an iPhone at a low price or become the owner of a prize only with an advance payment. And if the fraudulent telegram channel specifies the pickup method for authenticity, then in 100% of cases there are no points of sale at the specified address, and the scammer stops answering additional questions and “bans” an overly curious client.
The old scheme with an unexpected “Win” also works
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Photo: Screenshot
Experts warn that there are no real schemes for the sale of “confiscated smartphones” (or any other equipment or goods). All confiscation is sold under state control and only through special auctions. And the price for confiscation, although lower, is insignificant (not 2 or 5 times), because the goods must be sold as close as possible to the market price.
Apple’s share in the Russian market will continue to decline, experts say. Yes, the iPhone will not disappear completely, but will become the lot of either wealthy or risky people who will have to come to terms with the fact that one day their smartphone will turn into a “brick”.
