Stop buying Apple products from random people on the street — seriously

If a random stranger came up to you offering to sell you a brand new iPhone 11, would you consider buying it from them? If you said no, then congratulations to you, win! What's your prize? Not being scammed by a con artist.

I know it seems rather straightforward, by two —yes, two — people have been duped into buying lemonade for hundreds of dollars (pounds, technically) in the UK by someone offering to sell them Apple products.

To be fair, the latest victim, Dylan Obeegadoo, was shown real Apple products before he handed over the cash; here's his version of the events:

Yikes! Look, part of this story is a little funny and offers a bit of that delicious schadenfreude, but you have to remember that scammers and con artists a good at what they do. We've all heard horror stories of a friend or relative who has been swindled by a tax scam, or a lottery scam, or some other con, and the catching scammers can be pretty tricky for the police or other authorities to deal with. It's a real problem, and real people are getting taken advantage of, and that's not funny.

What can you do?

The answer is pretty simple, make sure you're buying your Apple products from reputable retailers and not people off the street — especially if they are new.

If you are going to buy a used iPhone or other Apple products, make sure you do everything you can to protect yourself. Inspect the product thoroughly before purchasing, ask for receipts, check the boxes before you hand over the cash, and most importantly if a deal seems too good to be true, there's a reason, so trust your instincts.

5 Important Considerations When Buying a Used iPhone

Don't get caught in an unfortunate situation and be stuck with bottles of lemonade you paid hundreds of dollars for, no deal is worth getting scammed.