‘Cheap iPhone deal’: warning over scam sites selling latest Apple mobiles
Apple's launch of its new iPhone Duo foldable and iPhone 18 Pro models has been swiftly exploited by criminals setting up fake retail websites to defraud eager buyers. Security researchers have recorded a sharp spike in scam domains registered around the launch, using words like "Apple" and "iPhone" to lure people searching for cheaper deals, with victims typically paying by bank transfer and receiving nothing in return.
According to Alexandre François of WhoisXML API, more than 200 new suspicious domains were registered within 24 hours of the keynote, compared with almost none on a normal day, a pattern seen at each of the last four iPhone launches. The fake sites often use AI-generated content to look convincing, quote prices well below the official £1,199 (18 Pro) and £1,299 (18 Pro Max), impose false purchase deadlines, and demand payment via bank transfer or cryptocurrency to avoid card protections; anyone claiming to sell the yet-unlaunched standard iPhone 18 is automatically a scammer.
- Scammers set up fake sites cashing in on new iPhone launch hype
- Over 200 suspicious domains registered within 24 hours of keynote
- Red flags: bank transfer/crypto-only payment, unrealistic discounts, urgent deadlines
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Scam pages tied to Apple's newest iPhones – the foldable iPhone Duo and the iPhone 18 Pro range – have been springing up since the devices were unveiled. Fraudsters register lookalike websites using words like "Apple" and "iPhone" to catch people searching online for a bargain, then take payment for handsets that never arrive.
Security researchers monitoring domain registrations, including analyst Alexandre François, say this happens after every iPhone launch, but the numbers involved make the scale clear: hundreds of suspicious new web addresses can appear within a single day of Apple's announcement, compared with almost none on an ordinary day. The sites are often well made, sometimes using artificial intelligence to generate convincing text and images.
This matters because genuine new iPhones are expensive, so shoppers are naturally drawn to sites offering them more cheaply. The scam sites exploit that by advertising unrealistic discounts, adding false deadlines to rush buyers into paying, and asking for payment by bank transfer or cryptocurrency, methods that offer little chance of getting money back if something goes wrong.