Scammers Sell Woman iPad Made of ... Wood

Ashley McDowell probably should have been suspicious when two guys approached her in a South Carolina McDonald’s parking lot and offered to sell her an iPad for $300. She almost certainly should have gotten suspicious when, after she explained she only had $180, the pair still agreed to the sale. But sadly, she was not suspicious, and the 22-year-old drove all the way home before opening the FedEx box she had been given to find all that was inside was a block of wood with an Apple logo on it.

The piece of wood was painted black and framed with tape, and went so far as to include fake icons for Safari and other iPad applications. It also had a Best Buy “sales ticket” on it, cops said. The Smoking Gun, which has a copy of the sheriff’s office report and pictures of the fake iPad, notes that most “brick in a box” scammers don’t bother making an actual replica; they’re typically satisfied with making sure the box weighs the correct amount. Police dusted the phony tablet, which TSG calls an "iPlank," for prints. (More iPad stories.)