New wave of Fraudsters rocking Zim with scammers now owning box-sealing machines to make Smartphones and Laptops look new

Counterfeit, used and refurbished electronic gadgets have become a norm in the Zim market. To be clear selling counterfeit goods is illegal but selling used or refurbished goods is legal but the problem now comes when consumers are now being told that these goods are brand new and sealed. For the last few days i have been seeing several outlets in Harare and online claiming refurbished PCs to be brand new and the sad thing is almost 80% of Zimbabwean consumers don’t know the difference. As reported by the Herald one such example is Victory Mobiles housed in Nicky’s Mall, located at the corner of Bank and Chinhoyi streets, opposite the Gulf Complex, an electronics shop reportedly selling counterfeit Redmi and Samsung phonesTrust Freddy, Check Point Desk. Join us as we uncover the whole secret and how to authenticate products.

NB: If you want to buy a new gadget or device, read the end of this article well and see some ways to be safe when buying gadgets nowadays.

Anyway let’s get into our story, so imagine unwrapping a brand-new phone, only to discover it has been used before, if you are lucky, you would see call logs and messages but nowadays it all gets an expertly executed factory reset, without actual technical knowledge you wouldn’t be able to see the difference.

This is the harsh reality faced by some Harare residents who have fallen victim to unscrupulous phone dealers selling counterfeit or refurbished devices as brand new. The scam has evolved, with dealers now operating from legitimate shops in the central business district. To the untrained eye, it might be incredibly difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake cellphones. These cell phones tend to have battery issues, such as shutting down unexpectedly at 85 percent charge or failing to reach full capacity, even after extended charging periods.

Some of these ‘brand new’ cell phones exhibit strange behaviour, such as turning on their screens autonomously, making random calls, sending unsolicited messages, switching to airplane mode mid-conversation, or toggling data on and off unexpectedly.

It is alleged that the dealers import boxes of popular brands like Samsung, Redmi, i-phones, Huawei and other top brands, repackage them, and sell them as original devices.

The phones are advertised as brand new, but customers soon discover they’ve been sold a fake, a used or a refurbished phone. And ohh by the way this is happening to laptops too, i have seen a lot of sellers advertising these gadgets as new and to further solidify their status and reach more people they have now turned to running Facebook and instagram ads.

These smartphones are allegedly sourced from China and Dubai, and imported in bulk by dealers who take advantage of rock-bottom prices. The trend is prevalent in the central business district, at the formerly Ximex Mall space, Zimpost Mall, Century Mall, the Gulf Complex near Market Square, and various electronics shops in glass-partitioned stalls.

At Gulf Complex, the majority of these refurbished smartphones or laptops have a two to three-day guarantee. A visit to these areas is often characterised by customers arguing with dealers over refunds. “I bought this Redmi 13C for US$120 from a legitimate store, still sealed in its box, but it’s malfunctioning,” said a disgruntled customer.

“It auto-dials random numbers, experiences spontaneous screen activation, and toggles data on its own,” she added.
She considers herself stuck in a bad situation, having swapped one problematic phone for another.

“I am exhausted from dealing with this,’ she added. “The original phone was far worse – it only took photos and would crash when I tried to record video. I exchanged it for this one, but it’s still a lemon.” The herald reported.

She alleges that the very phone, purchased from an electronics shop at Gulf Complex, was hastily refurbished and repackaged. “After I reported the malfunction, they gave me this phone, but I was shocked to see them neatly removing my screen guard and phone cover, repackaging it in a new box, and putting it back on display as if it were new.”

The customer had no kind words for these unscrupulous dealers.

“If a raid were conducted, many of these mushrooming electronics shops would likely shut down. Authorities are currently focusing on counterfeit medicines and food products, while the market has been flooded with fake phones.”
Exactly as she had described, this reporter witnessed the phone’s brightness increasing on its own, and it began selecting contacts. “Look how it misbehaves,” she said. “I have to constantly monitor it because it could post statuses or pictures to random people without my permission.”

These unscrupulous electronic gadget dealers can even dupe people as much as US$800 and the trend of these high value smartphones is with the iPhone, Apple’s flagship device. To further understand this whole scheme after each release Apple discontinues the versions before usually 2 generations before for example with the release of the iPhone 16 the iPhone 14 pro will no longer be produced though it’s still possible to get a brand new 14 and 15 getting a brand new 13 and below series now will surely be a hoax. This applies to Samsung and other brands as well.

“They ruined my Valentine’s Day,” said Mrs Vanessa Chandavengerwa from Highfield.
“My husband bought me a Samsung S23 for US$800 but within 24 hours, the screen started flickering and became blurred.” She said they immediately rushed to the shop where her husband had bought the phone.

“We requested a refund, but the seller refused, saying, ‘We don’t offer refunds.’ Instead, he handed me another sealed S23 box.
‘‘Two days later, I realised I had been sold another dud – the phone was slow and the touch screen was malfunctioning.”
When she returned the phone, the seller refused once more.

This time, she took a different approach.

“My sister is a lawyer, she wrote a strongly worded letter demanding a refund, and surprisingly, the seller backed down. I got an Ecocash notification my refund had been processed.” The herald reported.

Well she was a lucky one, how about a thousand others who eventually lost to the hooligans defrauding people in broad day light.

Mrs Chandavengerwa said numerous cases like hers fly under the radar because many shoppers are not aware of their consumer rights and would not know how to seek redress.

An ex-employee of a Gulf Complex phone vendor said:
“We had a box-sealing machine to make these phones look new. We would import empty boxes for different brands and fill them with refurbished devices. If a customer gets a phone with missed calls or messages, it means someone’s head would roll – we were supposed to ensure all devices are fully wiped before resale.”

National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi warned unscrupulous electronic gadget dealers that they will be primary targets in the ongoing crackdown on counterfeit products.
“We haven’t received such reports, but given our ongoing crackdown on counterfeit products, we will investigate these claims and collaborate with relevant departments.

“If any criminal activity is uncovered, I assure you that the law will be allowed to take its course.”
The Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) chairperson, Mrs Respina Zinyanduko acknowledged the proliferation of counterfeit cellphones, noting that they were being smuggled into the country.

“The Commission is seized with numerous complaints from consumers about the sale of substandard cell phones,” she said. “Investigations conducted indicate that these cell phones are smuggled into the country from Dubai and China in sealed boxes.

“Some of the cell phones are imitations or original brands hence have similar but fake specifications.” Although the Commission has been receiving complaints, Ms Zinyanduko, said previously, they typically encouraged refunds. However, she warned that moving forward, perpetrators will face penalties.

“The Commission, upon receipt of the complaints usually engage the supplier who at times don’t hesitate to give a refund or an exchange. In future, these will become criminal cases so that perpetrators are brought to book. Those businesses found to be on the wrong side of the law will be made to account for their action.”

She urged members of the public not to hesitate to report such cases.

“Consumers are also being encouraged to report suspected counterfeit products and sellers so that appropriate action is taken. Anyone who has been short-changed is being encouraged to report through the Commission’s hotline numbers: +263 719 176b 856/861/865.”
A 2020 report by the former Auditor General Mrs Mildred Chiri said most mobile phones and accessories such as chargers and batteries being sold in the country were either counterfeit or sub-standard products.

“Audit inspected 32 shops in Harare, 15 shops in Bulawayo, four shops in Victoria Falls and five flea markets in Beitbridge which were selling substandard mobile phones and accessories,” reads part of the report.

The report said the sale of counterfeit mobile phones and accessories was due to smuggling and non-detection at border posts as unscrupulous cell phone dealers were using split consignments to evade authorities.

Split consignment techniques involve instances in which traders import products at market value below $1 000 using different people to avoid costs associated with obtaining a Consignment Based Conformity Assessment (CBC) certification.

The proliferation of counterfeit cellphones appears to have worsened since a similar report was released about five years ago.

What should you do when you want to buy an electronic device?

Well first before buying any electronic device have the idea of what you want to buy drawn up and state your budget as well. Seek consultation from experts about your budget and what you can get that’s closer to your needs.

When buying you can go with someone you trust and who knows their way around gadgets so they can test and authenticate your product.
 

If you don’t have anyone you know you can get some guidance from our parent company KineByte Technologies to help you make an informed decision and they can help connect you with authentic retailers for original gadgets where every process will be transparent. Stay safe in these hard times, people are now turning to all sorts of things in a quest to get money.

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