Police in India’s capital city of Delhi have cracked down on a sophisticated counterfeit smartphone operation, which was caught selling fake Samsung Galaxy smartphones. The local law enforcement has made arrests and even confiscated hundreds of these counterfeit Galaxy phones, so here’s everything you need to know.

Police Shut Down Fake Samsung Galaxy Phone Racket, Over 500 Counterfeits Seized

The Delhi Police recently dismantled an illegal phone assembly and sales operation that was passing off counterfeit Samsung Galaxy devices as genuine products. The raid was carried out in the Karol Bagh neighborhood, which led to the arrest of four suspects and seizure of more than 512 fake Galaxy smartphones along with a cache of electronic components and tools used in the scheme.

As per official police reports, the group was sourcing various parts like motherboards, cameras, batteries, and frames from abroad, primarily from suppliers in China. These components were then assembled together with salvaged or generic components to build phones that resemble Samsung’s premium smartphones, like the Galaxy S Ultra lineup, and even the Galaxy Fold and Flip series.

To make the units appear authentic, investigators found hundreds of fake IMEI stickers marked “Made in Vietnam”, a tactic intended to mislead buyers and evade network checks. While most of these devices cost over 1,200 US Dollars in the Indian market, the illegal business was selling these fake Samsung phones for around 450 US Dollars (around Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000). So unsuspecting buyers were lured into what appeared to be attractive deals that were too good to be true. The police are currently investigating to uncover the deeper network for such a business, like its supply chain.

For more daily updates, please visit our News Section.

Tech enthusiast? Get the latest news first! Follow our Telegram channel and subscribe to our free newsletter for your daily tech fix!

The post How a Fake Samsung Galaxy Phone Operation Was Exposed in a Major Police Raid in India appeared first on Gizmochina.

With the recent and explosive growth of Clubhouse app, fake versions of the application has been spreading around via fake ads. These ads have also been responsible for the increasing number of malware infections.

According to a PhoneArena report, the rising popularity is what likely lead to the creation of these fake ads of a non existent Clubhouse app. For those unaware, Clubhouse is only available in Apple iOS at the moment. Meaning, the Android version is still a few months away. But since the app has been quite popular in recent times, fake ads of its non existent versions, which is filed with malware has been circulating online.

For those unaware, the audio only chat room has become a rising social media platform over the course of a year. But, certain Facebook ads have been connecting users to pages on the social media site that impersonate the app. If people click on these ads, they will be directed to a fake Clubhouse PC website. When tapped, the link is also included with malware, which is downloaded into the victim’s device.

This app seeks instructions from a C&C (command and control) server as to what action to take next. Some of the people that clicked on the fake ads had their device be loaded with ransomware. In other words, victims would have to pay money for the infected device to function normally again. While Facebook hasn’t revealed the exact number of clicks on these fake ads, nine of these ads were discovered on the social media platform.

RELATED:

• Twitter held talks to acquire Clubhouse for a $4 billion deal: Report
• Lizhi partners with Tesla-rival Xpeng to bring Clubhouse like Live stream podcast in-car
• Clubhouse has recorded over 8 million downloads on the App Store

The post Fake ads of a PC version of Clubhouse has been spreading malware appeared first on Gizmochina.

While Samsung is getting set for the launch of its latest Galaxy flagship smartphone on 14th January 2020, it seems that fake versions of the Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra are already available.

According to an iFeng report, fake imitations of the South Korean tech giant’s latest high end handset are already out in the market. This arrives just prior to the launch conference for the 2020 Galaxy flagship series from Samsung. The report also featured images of the copycat variants of the Galaxy S21+ and the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Looking at these images, it can be observed that both devices resemble previously leaked renders and designs of the Samsung flagship.

Editor’s Pick: TECNO, itel, and Infinix continued to grow in Africa despite the global pandemic in 2020

In other words, the actual Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra might also feature a similar physical appearance, although, that is just speculation so take it with pinch of salt for now. While both devices have yet to be officially be unveiled, previous reports have mostly revealed the specifications of the devices. The Galaxy S21+ features a 6.3 inch FHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, while the Galaxy S21 Ultra sports a 6.9 inch 2K display.

Under the hood, the entire lineup will likely sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC paired with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. On the other hand, the non Snapdragon variants will house the new Exynos 2100 processor. Unfortunately, these are just versions of the device so this isn’t a reliable source of information regarding the upcoming flagships, so stay tuned for the launch January 14 conference, which we will be covering.

UP NEXT: Huawei to fall from Top 6 rankings in 2021; as global smartphone production to crosses 1.3 billion units: Report

The post Fake versions of Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and Ultra are already out appeared first on Gizmochina.

Earlier today (23rd November 2020), Xiaomi announced that it had seized counterfeit products in the Southern states of the country. As per estimates, these fakes were worth over 33 lakhs INR (or 3,300,000 INR and roughly 45,000 US Dollars).

As per an official press note, the Chinese tech giant revealed that the counterfeit goods were seized from four suppliers in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Bangalore, Karnataka. The company made these discoveries through its comprehensive proactive anti-counterfeit program. At the moment, a complaint has been filed against the local police station, with raids being conducted in the market in the months of October and November.

According to the registered complaint, police officers accompanies with the company’s representatives seized counterfeit products from three prominent shops in the region. The group discovered over 3000 products, which consisted of mobile covers, headphones, power banks, chargers, and earphones. Notably, shop owners from both the cities were arrested for allegedly selling fake Mi India products worth over 24.9 lakhs (roughly 33,600 US Dollars) and 8.4 lakhs INR (roughly 11,300 US Dollars) respectively.

Editor’s Pick: Huawei launches MateStation B515 PC for government and enterprises, features AMD Ryzen 4000 series APUs

Additionally, interrogations have revealed that both parties have been managing this business for a long time and have sold numerous unauthorized products in the market. So, you can check out a few pointers given below that could hint at the authenticity of your Xiaomi products:

• Some products like carry security codes that can be checked on mi.com to identify the authenticity of the product- eg. Mi Powerbanks, all audio products.
• Packaging and quality of retail boxes are very different. You can visit any Mi Home/ Mi Store to validate the original packaging
• Check for the original Mi India Logo on the product and you will know if that is authorized. Original logo of packaging can be seen on mi.com
• All authorized fitness products such as Mi Band(s) will have Mi Fit app compatibility.
• Unauthorized cables are often flimsy and break easily

UP NEXT: Snapdragon 870 could be overclocked version on Snapdragon 865; Could the Find X3 feature it?

The post Counterfeit Xiaomi products worth over 3,300,000 INR ($45K) seized in India appeared first on Gizmochina.

According to a fresh report, a company called Kimtien on AliExpress, the popular online retail website has been found selling numerous fake smartphone models of major brands, including Samsung and Huawei. A great example of such fakes is the Kimtien Note 10+ which looks like a carbon copy of the similarly named Samsung Galaxy Note 10+.

Notably, the price of the former is just one fifth or 20 percent of the latter. The large difference in price is mainly due to different internal specifications being used that are more affordable. To elaborate, a MediaTek processor can be found in the Kimtien device unlike the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC or the South Korean tech giant’s proprietary Exynos 9825 processor.

Editor’s Pick: Huawei dares the US to publish proof against it, Reiterates it doesn’t have access to backdoors

The plagiaristic design also extends to Huawei smartphone models as well. A simple search of the brand will reveal multiple results of familiar looking handsets that carry a different name. Interestingly, models like the Huawei Mate 30 series can be seen on the website too.

Unfortunately, not a lot regarding the Kimtien brand is known at the moment but it is clear that it is currently sourcing most of its products from China and is also likely to be based in the Southeast Asian nation as well. Currently, it is unknown if the major e-commerce and online retailer giant, AliExpress, will take in actions regarding these blatant rip offs. Thus, users and other potential buyers are advised to be wary of this company.

UP NEXT: Samsung’s Galaxy S20 series pre-order starts at INR 66,990, Galaxy Z Flip pre-registration is live

(Via)

The post Fake Samsung and Huawei smartphone models are flooding AliExpress appeared first on Gizmochina.

The CCTV Quality Inspection Weekly Report disclosed a large amount of disqualified power banks on August 24th, and the 5200mAh Xiaomi power bank is one of them.

Xiaomi quickly responded to that. They said those Xiaomi power banks CCTV tested were not genuine. The State Quality Inspection Administration confirmed that yesterday.

So to help users avoid buying those fakes, Xiaomi has dedicated an instruction page on their official website just for that.

Method one: always buy from the the official website or authorized channels.

Method two: use the anti-counterfeit label to verify.

Method three: Check the workmanship details.

The post Xiaomi: how to avoid fake Xiaomi power banks appeared first on Gizmochina.

HTC M8 is a very beautiful smartphone in this year, HTC has clearly decided that the look and quality of materials matter, and has made them a top priority. Of course, it also is China phone factory’s item to copy. Yes, the knock-off HTC M8 arrived my hand and here is the testing video.

This fake HTC M8 has double camera on the back, but with plastic case. This phone specs also just an entry-class device: 5-inch HD screen, 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6582 quad-core processor, 1GB RAM and 4GB ROM, 8MP rear camera. I don’t know the price details yet, but I think it will be under $100.

The post Fake HTC M8 Hands on: Stylish Appreance With MTK Processor appeared first on Gizmochina.

Yes! You heard it right the Goophone I5 world’s most anticipated iPhone 5 clone… announced before the iPhone 5, but ironically  it should release ,according to their website page (goophone.hk), this month from the 12-14. Let’s hope they are right as we have been waiting months for this android phone. The Goophone I5 is available for pre-order at www.android-sale.com for 249.99$ US a cheap price if you compare it to the actual iPhone 5 with a price tag of 699.99$US

The post Goophone I5 officially announced for release from 12.12 to 12.14 appeared first on Gizmochina.

So you may have heard of the “Zophone I5” or even the “Goophone I5”. Well recently…Zophone released their iPhone 5 clone with identical specifications as the Goophone I5 rocking the same dimensions as the iPhone 5. Zophone I5 is now the best iPhone 5 clone in the market.

Now here is a little video on of the Zophone I5…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8xmToRVCac&feature=youtu.be

Available for purchase at www.anexonel.net76.net

Soon at www.android-sale.com

The post Zophone I5 released before Goophone I5 appeared first on Gizmochina.