09-05-2025
Mom Thinks She's Bought a New iPhone, Shows Daughter—but There's a Problem
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
A mother who had switched from an Android to her first iPhone was excited to show the new device off, only to quickly realize there was something very wrong.
A Reddit user Tobias Tawanda, who posts under the username u/Tobias-Tawanda, shared a photograph of a touch-screen phone to the r/MildlyInfuriating subreddit on May 8. He wrote: "My friend's mom proudly showing off her new 'iPhone 16 Pro Max' to me and her daughter."
A second photo showed the "about phone" info, where the model was listed as an iPhone 16 Pro Max, but was followed by "Android Version 12." Some people may be able to tell at first glance that the device was not an iPhone, and certainly not the 16 Pro Max, which was released in 2024 and retails for $1,199 on the Apple website.
However, Tawanda told Newsweek that his friend's mother is in her late 50s and "not very tech-savvy." She had never owned an iPhone before, instead using an old Samsung "for years" until it eventually stopped working.
The mom bought the phone on Facebook Marketplace, and it "came in a box and looked convincing enough at first glance, which is likely why she trusted it," Tawanda said—and she had paid "close to $600 for the phone, which is a significant amount for her.
The poster added in a Reddit comment that when she described the phone as an iPhone 16 Pro Max Mini, Tawanda instantly saw a red flag, as "that model doesn't exist."
He and his friend had to break the news that it was fake, and he told Newsweek "she was understandably very upset when we told her."
While it is unclear whether the mom will be able to get her money back, Tawanda said they "messaged the seller immediately, but they haven't responded."
"Her oldest son is now helping her get a proper new phone. We'll also be filing a police report—even if we're not sure how much it will actually help, it feels like the right thing to do."
Stock image: A woman holds a smartphone with a blank screen.
Stock image: A woman holds a smartphone with a blank post had a huge reaction, racking up more than 90,000 upvotes. Commenters worried about whether there could be even more sinister things at play, as one wrote: "God forbid she tries to access a credit card or bank on it."
"There could be anything installed on it and she 100 percent should not be using it," another agreed, as a third said: "If there wasn't some kind of spyware or something else on that phone I would be shocked."
Others suggested it was unlikely the person who sold it to her would refund her, as one user put it: "This was not an accident."
Another agreed: "The scammer isn't going to respond. Their account will probably be blank or deleted soon. Just consider the money gone and this to be a lesson learned."
E-commerce fraud, relating to things bought and sold online, is massive: in 2025 alone, losses to online payment fraud were estimated at $44 billion, according to Statista.
