Make Sure Your iPad's an iPad; Massachusetts Woman Fooled By New Scam

A Massachusetts woman was surprised in February, when she opened up the box to her brand new iPad and found a plastic fake inside.

Suzanne Nassise, of Brockton Masschusetts, is not the first consumer to be duped, according to CNN.com. The trend of the fake iPad has swept across the country over the past few years.

In an interview with CNN-affiliate WCVB-TV, Nassise said she couldn't tell it was a fake at first.

"When I first opened it I thought, 'Wow it's so light, Apple really is an elegant product,'" she said.

However, as her experience with hew new “iPad” went on, she started to notice some problems. When she looked closely at where the speakers and charging ports would be on a regular iPad she realized they were not there. Instead, in the place of two very important iPad components, were two painted on dots.

Nassise realized she had been cheated. "I just paid $500 for a paperweight,” she said in the interview.

At first Wal-Mart declined giving her a refund because of the company’s policy on returning opened merchandise. However, after a local ABC affiliate got involved they obliged.

This is not the first time Wal-Mart has been involved in a scam like this.

In 2011, Ken Lamal bought at an iPad replica at a Wal-Mart in Woodstock, Georgia.

"I think that probably somebody switched (the iPad) and took it back with the cellophane and everything," he said in an interview with CNN. "An employee says, 'Oh it's wrapped up, we'll stick it back in inventory,' and it gets sold to somebody else. I think that's what happens."

In January, the Newark Star Ledger reported another incident with a fake iPad.

"When I got home and opened the box, I thought it was a real iPad," Jamie Frick told the Ledger. "I took out the charger and then tried to plug it in the iPad, and that is when I started to notice everything."

Wal-Mart spokesperson Dana Gee said the company is working to fix the problem.

"We're actively reviewing our transactional records, and then going back and looking at the video that matches up with that to determine how this product is getting back on our shelves," she said, according to CNN. "If it appears that it is fraudulent, we will share all that information with local law enforcement."

According to CNN, electronics retailer Best Buy has had similar problems, but did not provide comment.