Facebook (FB) pages posing as authorized Apple resellers are using the same modus operandi of other scammers to sell a smartwatch.
Posted this October, the hoax ads claimed that the Power Mac Center launched the product Smartwatch GT20 Ultra and drew a huge crowd in one of its branches that left some patrons injured. The posts carried photos of the supposed “launch” and a caption which partly read:
“Kahapon (Yesterday), Power Mac Center: Officially launched Smartwatch GT20 Ultra imported from the US at a super special price in the Philippines, only PHP 1,099/1 units (PHP 2,199/2 units) on the occasion of opening the 10th branch in Greenbelt Mall. Dahil masikip ang event, nagdulot ng congestion at pagpupumilit, maraming customer ang hindi nakabili at nahimatay pa dahil sa kakulangan ng oxygen (Because the event was overcrowded, causing congestion and struggle, many customers were unable to buy and even passed out due to lack of oxygen).”
The scammers further claimed that due to the incident, the retailer would make the smartwatches available for purchase online through the websites centercitymall.shop, powermaccenter.shop, powermaccenter-ph.site, powermaccenter-ph.asia and powermaccenter-asia.click.
None of these are the legitimate site of the store (powermaccenter.com). Instead, the sites phish personal information.
Neither Apple nor the Power Mac Center sell the GT20 Ultra smartwatch. Apple’s smartwatch is called the Apple Watch.
The Power Mac Center has issued an advisory warning the public about the fake ads.
To further deceive netizens, the fake ads featured photos of injured or fainting individuals in events in other countries.
Note: Click on the photos to view their original source.
The two other photos of women fainting were previously featured in aircon scams that VERA Files Fact Check debunked last April and May.
The circulating scams this month are just rehashed versions of the aircon scam, which also peddled false claims about a launch that was mobbed and the subsequent selling of the product online.
Fake ads for the smartwatch GT20 Ultra appeared less than a month after Apple launched the iPhone 15.
Newly-created impostor FB pages such as Power Mac Center (created on Aug. 21 as ION 5D Pants – Japanese Authentic), Power Mac Center (Oct. 12), SM Mall of Asia Complex PH (Oct. 13), Power Mac Center (Oct. 10), Kristel Fulgar (Oct. 12), PОwer MaС СЁnter. (Oct. 11) and Jane Chuck (Oct. 11 as SM Mall of Asia) circulated the ads. The posts collectively garnered 1,953 reactions, 649 comments and 134 shares.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
