How to spot fake iPhones with real IMEI numbers?

Serial number checks, IMEI checks, boxes, none of that can prevent buying a counterfeit. Or buying a bricked device. Or a malfunctioning device.

The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying a used iPad/iPhone - Apple Community

Buy only from a trusted seller, or buy only at a heavy discount for the risk.

Serial number checks and IMEI lookups are not useful for detecting counterfeit devices.

Both serial numbers and IMEIs can be trivially copied from valid devices. And often are.

And any sufficiently profitable product will have counterfeits.

Counterfeits are commonly offered in the online markets, as well.

Deals offered by unknown or untrusted sellers via online markets are usually good deals for the seller. But for the buyer? Too often, not so much.

Buy from trusted sellers, or demand a discount to offset the risk you are taking buying from an untrusted seller.

In this case, you can report this to the local equivalent of customs, as they tend to be interested in counterfeits, if the seller isn’t willing to refund, or has disappeared.

LD150 wrote:

The only hard evidence of fakery presented so far is that it was slow booting up.

Aren't most fake phones Androids?

That’s been the most common, yes.

iPhone-like user interface themes and related apps are readily available.

Those that I’ve encountered have included the Android version and usually baseband version in settings, as well as usually having the Google Play store app available somewhere. But nothing would preclude hiding that.

Some counterfeits are junk. Some are fairly decent.

Using real iphone cases to build fakes doesnt sound like a sound business plan.

Look-alike cases are common.

Phone parts are available in bags sold by the kilogram too, though whether those parts are legitimate salvage, or rejects, or are third-party parts creatively re-labeled?

One big vendor found counterfeit HDDs available in their own internal supply chain, and I’m sure they’re not alone.

Bummer. Report them to the appropriate authorities.

put the serial number in this website. https://coverage.apple.com

see if it is fake.

I would not like to guess how scammers would get hold of "real iPhone 16 cases" and still make money.

Out of interest, how much did you pay in Canadian dollars?

Yes, counterfeit iPhones do not run iOS. Sometimes private sellers will take guts out of older iPhone and put in new case. That’s not feasible on a big scale. It’s just small time scammers selling on FB marketplace etc.

You purchased from Apple or an Apple Authorized reseller?

And, therein lies the problem. Caveat emptor.

The only hard evidence of fakery presented so far is that it was slow booting up.

Aren't most fake phones Androids?

Using real iphone cases to build fakes doesnt sound like a sound business plan.