iPhone News Updated

BBB warns of schemes related to iPhone 3G

Agency advises that you buy it only at authorized stores

The Better Business Bureau warns consumers about numerous schemes associated with Apple’s new iPhone 3G.

Michele McDaniel, president of the BBB of North Alabama, said scammers are taking advantage of the popularity of the iPhone 3G, introduced this summer, to rip off consumers.

Scammers set up Web sites posing as legitimate retailers, brokers and resellers or posted ads online at classified sites such as Craigslist. Typically, victims were asked to wire payment for the phone, which never arrived.

Effective Sunday, Best Buy will sell iPhones, providing customers with a third outlet for purchase in addition to Apple and AT&T stores.

The BBB advises consumers to buy iPhone 3Gs only at authorized stores and never to wire money as payment when shopping for a second-hand iPhone online.

The iPhone was released exclusively for use with Apple-designated software and with AT&T as the wireless provider. But hackers have figured out ways to “unlock” iPhones, enabling them to use software that isn’t authorized by Apple or to run on wireless networks other than AT&T’s.

Hacking into an iPhone and installing an unauthorized program are risky and could damage the product or void the warranty, the BBB said.

A new feature for the iPhone 3G and the new iPod Touch is the option to install applications, or apps, small programs that perform specific functions, such as tracking sports scores or enabling the use of games, that users can upload to their device.

The Apps Store in iTunes (apple.com/itunes/) is the only authorized distributor of Apps, but Web sites have cropped up promising to sell Apps at discounted prices. Avoid sites promising deals on Apps, the BBB said.

[Thanks: http://www.al.com/]

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