Apple iPhone tips up on eBay

AT LEAST 23 PEOPLE fell for a scam from a bloke who claimed to be flogging an Apple iPhone on eBay.

One person was prepared to stump up $1,125 to own an iPhone before it reaches the shops, or indeed the manufacturers.

Apple has said that it will not be releasing the phone until sometime in June, but that did not stop eBay seller rgonzales23455 telling marks that he had six of them.

Computerworld emailed Rgonzales23455 and asked him how he got his paws on six of the machines before they had been released. He didn't reply and neither did Apple.

eBay, however, said that it pulled the listings and was warning that any such listings claiming to be selling the Apple iPhone are in violation of eBay's pre-sale policy.

Hacks from Computerworld contacted whpub, the high bidder of the iPhone auction, who told them that if the deal had been real it would have been worth it. If it hadn't, eBay and PayPal would have backed him up with their returns policy.

whpub said that there were rumours of iPhones being shipped as early as early April, and there was always a chance this seller managed to get one somehow. There is always a chance that Apple might put the INQ on the same gravy train as its tame US press too, although we wouldn't bet on it. µ