In a classic example of online duping, a 21-year-old woman from Brisbane was scammed of $1,200 when she ordered online for two iPhones, but got instead two edible Apple fruits.

She posted an advert on the Web site Gumtree saying she wanted to purchase two Apple smartphones. Another woman got in touch with her, stating she has two Apples for sale.

Her mistake was not checking the content of the iPhone box when she met with the seller at a McDonald's outlet and found out only her mistake when she got home and opened the boxes.

As a result of the scam, Senior Constable Jess Hopkin of the Upper Mt Gravatt Crime Prevention Unit warned residents to be wary of online purchases, especially when the deal appears to good to be true.

Niki Hennessy, spokeswoman of Gumtree, said the Web site is continually improving its processes and user education to make the ecommerce site the safest for buying and selling items.

She is definitely not the first victim of scammers who bank on the popularity of Apple products to make a fast buck.

There is the alleged free iPad and iPhone promo frequently promoted in social networking sites such as Facebook.

Earlier this year, a man in Manchester paid for an iPad but actually got a box of potatoes. Similar fraudulent acts had been reported in the north of England where boxes supposed to contain an iPad or iMac turned out to be potatoes or bottled water.

Others, like this man, already owned an iPhone but wanted a higher model and got scammed, losing his device forever. It seems he is not wary of Nigerians who are notorious for online scams.

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