People 'are getting FREE iPhones' online thanks to this shameful Amazon SCAM

AMAZON customers are getting "free iPhones" thanks to a shameful new online scam, a software developer has claimed.

Amazon customers are getting free iPhones, thanks to this online scam GETTY

Amazon customers are getting free iPhones, thanks to this online scam

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Apple's 128GB iPhone 6S (which we reviewed here) has a surprising number of one-star reviews on Amazon.

A swathe of angry buyers have posted photographs of an iPhone box filled with clay, claiming to have been sent the putty instead of the cutting-edge smartphone.

Priced at around £659, it's not difficult to see why these customers are enraged. Or are they?

Domo software engineer Cory Klein discovered the reviews when looking for an unlocked Apple iPhone on Amazon US.

He unearthed several damning one-star reviews on the iPhone product page written by customers who claimed to have been shipped a smartphone box brimming with clay in place of the iPhone 6S they ordered.

The Apple iPhone 6S has a surprising number of negative one-star reviews AMAZON

The Apple iPhone 6S has a surprising number of negative one-star reviews

Mr Klein initially thought the seller was trying to dupe his customers by mailing out boxes of clay – but was confused why the Amazon merchant would try the scam so many times, especially in light of Amazon famously pro-customer policies.

"That's when it clicked: there are no seller scammers here," he posted in his blog.

"It's the buyers that are the scammers."

According to Mr Klein, scammers are buying expensive iPhones from legitimate sellers on Amazon, pocketing the device when it arrives – and filling the box with clay.

Buyers have posted photographs of the iPhone 6S packaging filled with clay AMAZON

Buyers have posted photographs of the iPhone 6S packaging filled with clay

Since the clay matches the weight of the Apple smartphone, the claim that they have been duped appears to be legitimate.

The Utah-based business software company engineer explained on his blog: "If the seller was relying on the UPS/FedEx weight record to verify shipment (which most do) and has no other proof that they actually shipped the iPhone, then Amazon may resolve the case in favour of the scammer, refunding their purchase and allowing them to keep the (now stolen) iPhone.

"This works because Amazon heavily favour customers in their A-Z Guarantee claim process, and seller don't tend to record video evidence when shipping expensive merchandise (which they should).

A number of people have tried the scam, posting similar photos of clay AMAZON

A number of people have tried the scam, posting similar photos of clay

"The scammer incurs very little risk. If they win 1 in 10 claims, they pocket $1k. For the remaining nine claims, they can just resell the phone themselves and the only cost they incur are shipping, which is more than covered by the free iPhones they get."

Each of the clay filled reviews is marked as an "Amazon Verified Purchase", which means the customers who wrote the review purchased the item on Amazon.

It is unclear whether the buyers actually received a full refund from Amazon, this is only the theory developed by Cory Klein based on his knowledge of Amazon's A-Z Guarantee claim process.

  • Express.co.uk has approached Amazon for comment on this story.