Guys there are scammers out there - beware!! We get this question at least once a day - so we have decided to post on it. How do you tell a genuine Samsung Cellphone from a fake Samsung Cellphone? Here are some signs to look out for to minimise the risk of landing up with a dud: Identify the phone Before you purchase a phone ensure that you research it first. Go to the manufacturer’s website and look at the pictures. Usually there will be an option to zoom into the pic or get a close up of specific part. Have a close look to see what is the official model number? What are the available colours? Does it have a removable battery? Where does the SIM go? Does it have a microSD and where is that slot? Once you have this information then you are able to identify the critical components of the device. Buying Online Scammers like to advertise their fake phones on classified sites with a good picture of the phone and an attractive price. They will use a disposable email address such as Gmail or Hotmail and a pre-paid cell number. Be careful when buying from someone that meets all these criteria. Never hand over money to anyone without first inspecting the phone. An emailed picture is not good enough as these are copied from the manufacture’s website and therefore buying without seeing the device from someone listing their device on a free classifieds site is highly risky. Buying online from a reputable brand-name online dealer is fine as long as the dealer is authorised to sell such item. When buying online using a credit card, you have some protection – check with your bank. To check if an online dealer is reputable check out sites like Hellopeter and a Google search about that company will bring up all reports (good and bad). Switch On Scammers will try sell you a phone that is not switched on saying it has not been charged. Never buy a device you can’t switch on. Even a device with a flat battery can be switched on by plugging it into the wall charger and waiting a couple of minutes. Whilst charging, the screen should have very specific graphics and fake phone often don’t mimic those graphics. Open it If the phone is supposed to have a removable battery then the back cover should be able to be opened. If it does not then it is a fake. When opening the back, look out for the location of the SIM slots – does it match your research? Is the battery supposed to be that size? Make a call When phone-shopping take with you a R5 pre-paid SIM card, put that SIM in the phone and make a phone call. Does that work? Can you hear and be heard clearly? If the phone is stolen, it will not be able to make a call if it is blacklisted on the networks. Feel the Pressure Fake phones usually become available when the real manufacturer is out-of-stock and there is a demand. This is when scammers will try to pressurise you into buying saying that they have other interested people or that they can have it delivered today but need to deposit the money now to secure the phone. Never buy under pressure and of course the old adage of price: If its too good to be true, then is probably a fake. View a Video here: youtube/watchfeature=player_embedded&v=LzYMhcCRXO0
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 21:41:09 +0000
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