Apple is teaming up with the Australian Customs service to help stop counterfeit iPhones from entering the Australian market from China.
A spokesperson for the company has told The Australian that it is supplied customer’s authorities with trademark details to help curb the flow of fakes.
In China, sellers of counterfeit iPhones are reportedly selling the fake devices for up to $400. The customs service has said it confiscated 3,200 fake mobile phones last year.
One illegal seller recently told The Australian that the fake units are popular among tourists, and some sellers are able to gain quite a large amount of money from selling the fakes.
“(The customers) generally want to have something that looks like the real thing, so they can say that they have an iPhone,” he said.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
