The Seedy Side of Temu: A Journey into the World of Fake Tech

As we delved deeper into the world of online shopping, we found ourselves at Temu, a platform known for its high-quality and authentic goods. However, today, our mission was to explore the seedier side of the site, specifically to find fake tech products that would inevitably raise some eyebrows. We set out on this journey with an open mind, eager to see if there were any hidden gems being sold by Temu's less-than-reputable sellers.

We began our search for fake tech products, knowing that to buy a counterfeit item almost always means it has to be slightly different from the real thing. If a product was genuinely branded as an iPhone, Apple's lawyers would quickly swoop in and shut down any sales. However, if a seller claims a product is not a genuine brand but rather something similar, they might just be able to avoid detection. We started by looking for products that could potentially skirt the law.

Our first discovery was a Smart Ink phone screen case, which claimed to use an E-ink full-screen display instead of your phone's battery. The seller assured us that it didn't require any power from our device, making it seem like an authentic product at first glance. However, as we dug deeper, we realized that this might not be the fake tech deal we were looking for after all.

Our next find was a mobile phone with 3G RAM and 32-gig ROM. This one did indeed look like something from our dreams - or rather, a poor copy of an iPhone model. The seller claimed it was called the U24 Ultra, complete with built-in pen, which sent shivers down our spines.

To test if this phone was legitimate, we searched for any information about it. To our surprise, we found that Samsung does produce phones with similar specifications, such as the Galaxy A55. However, the details provided by Temu were not quite accurate. The device had a camera model and features like flippy foldy functionality that seemed too good to be true.

Finally, after hours of searching, we stumbled upon another product - an "Awesome Lemon" phone that claimed to be an authorized Samsung Galaxy A55. We couldn't believe our eyes when we found reviews from other customers expressing their one-star experience with this device. The details were off, the camera specifications did not match any known models by Blackview, and the claim of being a genuine Samsung product seemed like an exaggerated boast.

In conclusion, as we navigated through Temu's marketplace, it became apparent that finding fake tech products was easier than expected, but ensuring authenticity required more effort. We discovered both legitimate and counterfeit items, each offering unique experiences for their respective buyers.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Temu is the fine purveyorof many high-quality,very authentic goods,but today, we're gonna take a lookat the seedier parts of the site.Yes, my friends,let's buy some fake tech from Temu.Normally, we accidentally getfake tech on a regular basis,but today, I'm going to gospecifically in search of itto see, are there hidden gems being soldby that sketchy dude in thealley with the trench coat?Or are there hidden gems in the roughbeing sold by Adam Sandler's character?- But these, now you can't getyour hands on these things,you understand?- The thing is, to buy a fake productalmost always means it's gottabe a little different, right?Because if it was actuallylike, branded as an iPhone,that thing would get zappedby Apple lawyers immediately.But if you sell a mobile cellular phone,fruit-themed edition,then you might be able to skirt by.Wait, what the hell?It's a Smart Ink phone screen case.It's not fake at all.Apparently, it doesn'tuse your phone's battery,just the NFC.That actually, it saysfull E-ink screen, too.I'm trying to find fake stuff,and I'm actually finding like the, oh!Jackpot, baby!Mobile phone, 3G RAM, 32-gig ROM.Boy, does this phone remindyou of anything at all?If you gently caressthose three camera bumps,would that make you thinkof any kind of fruit-themedcompany you've ever seen?And for $72, there's like,no shot this is good, right?U24 Ultra?Now that iPhone looked like a poor copy.This is ridiculous.This is the U24 Ultra with built-in pen.Oh, I'm excited, that's wild.That is not what Ithought I was gonna get.Okay, so this looks likea real Samsung phone.So this is a Galaxy A55.It's Awesome Lemon. Mm, okay.This has gotta be a real phone, right?Authorized to sell by Samsung,100% authenticity guaranteed.Oh really? Let's like acloser look, shall we?Blackview unlocked flippy foldy phone.108 megapixel camera?That's more than my Z Flip.Do I need a Blackview flippy boy?Maybe.There's one review, one star, quote,\"Poorest quality I have ever ordered.\"Well, how bad could it be?You know, if you offer me a flippy boy,it would be rude not to evaluate.All right, with that, my friends,it is time to place our order with Temuto see if any of the variousitems we've gotten are real.More importantly, if anyof them are actually good.Probably not.Why, hello there!- Peekaboo.- So we have,what'd you say?- Peekaboo.I'm not peeka-booing,I am professionally unboxingfake stuff from Temu.Well, presumably fake.Some of this stuff Ihope is actually real.So this, my friends,is a Blackview Hero 10.What was, this was 500 bucksor something, you know?- Wait, it's the sameprice as like, a Moto Razr?- It's actually more expensive.So since I ordered this-- Great start.- The regular Moto Razr, the 2023 version,was on sale for 400 bucks.I actually bought oneand made it short on it.So yes, this is, in fact,more expensive than the Razr.- Yeah, we bought it for $523.- Oof.- Ooh.- I do like the lilac color.I think this is actually supposedto be the right color.- Lilac.- Yeah, pink.- Oh.- You don't like little pink action?- I thought lilac was like,a purple.- Purple, yeah.- I'm color blind, so it doesn't matter.- With that shirt.(all laughing)- Ooh, it's kind of heavy,wow, it's surprisingly heavy.All right, so open and-- Ooh!- Okay, okay.- Okay.- Okay, alright.So hinge is fine,although it does feela little cheapy, right?So if I kinda hold it, well,it's not actually too bad,it does hold most sort of directions.So my friends, on theleft, I have the Blackview,and on the right, Ihave the 2023 Moto Razr.So at first glance,they look very similar,especially when you look at the backs.While it's a slightlydifferent shade of pink,it's definitely the same kind of vibethat they're going for.The first thing I'm try is the camera,'cause they're hyping upa 108 megapixel camera.The bet is gonna look bad.Okay, three, two, one.Now we got 108 megapixel still.All right, now before we look at that,let's switch over to Videomode and see what we've got.So I will say that lookingat the viewfinders,the Blackview looks like it is a fractionof the actual dynamic range.Like, the Razr, it's not blowing you out.You guys look like you've gotlike a MySpace 2006 filter onwith the Blackview,and on the Moto Razr's actually like,detail in, like, your shirts and whatnot.I don't think this is the move.I would rather go with the Moto Razr,or if I'm being really real with you,a used Z Flip is probablyalso a bad move.- Okay!- You can get a used Z Flip 3 or 4for way less than either of these phones.We have a carbon fiberpackage of some kind.I dunno what kinda-- I like carbon fiber squares.- I like carbon fiber in general.Oh! That's why it's all fancy.So it's magnetic, whichactually, that's pretty nice.It's plastic on the insidewith metal on the outsideand it's got film.Alex, can you fill me in?What was the pitch on this?'Cause I thought it was gonna, like,supposed to make your phonelook like a newer phone or something.- I mean, yeah, thatis basically the pitch.The pitch is that you encaseyour phone into this thing,and it's supposed to lookjust like a regular iPhone.So it looks like youdon't have a case on it,even though you do.- Okay, so this is actuallya kind of decent case,is my first impression of it.It feels very premium.It feels like it shouldcost a lot of money.I don't think it was that bad.- As someone that looks atcases on Amazon all the time,when the newer iPhones come out,this is actually not all that special.You can find these onAmazon for like 10 bucks,pretty easy, yeah.- Really?- How much did I payfor this super premium Temu iPhone case?- 30 whole dollars.- Oh, that's a ripoff.- I would've said like, 15 bucks.- Yeah.- I still don't thinkit's that bad, honestly.It's not the worst thing-- Thank God it camewith a carbon fiber box.- I'm stealing screen protector.And we've got ourselves a Galaxy A15.Now, is this legitimate or not?Okay, well first of all,it's all in Spanish,so that's interesting.- Pourquoi?- Mm-hmm.But it does look real, andlike, the seal's still on here.So we've got ourselves USBcable and some paperwork.This all looks, yeah,this is a real phone.Pretty sure it's a real phone.I do like this yellow.This yellow is delightful, look at that.It's just a fun color.Ooh, oh, it says you gota little bit of like,an iridescent finish.Can you see that whenit catches the light?That's actually really cool,almost looks like a holo patternon like a card or something.- God, of course itgoes back to Pokemon cards.- That's pretty good though, man.- I liked the yellowuntil you compared it to a Pokemon card.- This actually is, at firstglance, a decent display.First, I thought it was gonna be 720,but it actually, it's a1080p OLED, which is decent.Now, it's certainly a lower-end OLED,like, you definitely see alittle bit of like, color,like, banding off axis andwhatnot, but like, come on,we're talking about amuch more affordable phonethan like, an S24 or something.So you really can't judgeit by that same criteria.Y'all wanna take some photosand take a look at what12 megapixels looks like?Yeah, you're gonna get alittle closer on this one.All right, ready?And ca-chow.(camera clicking)Also, I like that there's a fun button.What's the fun button?It's Snapchat lenses in the camera. What?Oh, you're adorable, Matt.- I know I am.- It does look likeit's like 5 FPS, though. Yikes.I don't know if this is thefilter I was looking for.- This is literally the best filter ever.(Austin laughing)Yeah, I'm well aware howcute I look right now.- So the Galaxy A15,I think is very clearlya legitimate, real devicethat we bought from Temu.And it does seem okay,but with the caveat of how much was it?- So if you bought-- I love when he starts with, \"So.\"- If you buy one of these brand newfrom Samsung themselves-- It's brand new.- It's 200 bucks.- $200, so I cango on samsung.com right nowand buy one for $200 exactly like this?- Yes.- Cool, okay, great.How much did I pay on Temu?- We paid $132.- Better?- Okay, that seems good.That seems like we've got a deal.- It seems good.- Do we have a warranty?- No.- I don't know,only because Temu took the listing down.So who knows, maybe they'restolen from Brazil or something.- Yeah, these fell off a truck.- Yeah, that's whathappened actually, isn't it?Well, at least it's a real phone, right?- It is a real phone,and the price seems gooduntil you look on Amazon.- What is it on Amazon?- It's 150 for a new one on Amazon.- ] And that'swhere the actual warrantyand not stolen?- Well, I don't knowif it's not stolen, but-- Also, the camera closed.The camera app crashed anddidn't save my recording!Now you're just gonna see a bunch of melooking at a phone without it saving.- I mean, but we gotme looking cute as hell, so.- This next item I reallywant to experience,because on the surface,it seems like a lovely, little consoleto enjoy your amazing titleson the big screen television.What it actually is, is two controllers.And you might be asking,\"Austin, where's my PS5?\"Don't worry, it's not thecontrollers, because the PS5,this is the PS5.- Damn, PhilSpencer's malding right now.The they beat him to it.- It is, in fact,a HDMI dongle.I think this is egregious,'cause like, in the listing,this looks like a PS5,except when you realizeit's a freakin' stick.Alright, let me get the TV in here.Let's plug in our game stick and find out.Yep, I've got my HDMI dongle,my micro USB for charge,and it actually comeswith a little USB-A adapterfor your wireless controllers.So let's plug this thing inand see what it does, shall we?So it just immediately launches.We have \"Arcade Classics,\"\"FinalBurn Neo,\"\"Mame,\" 2600, 5200, 7800,Lynx, Neo Geo Pocket.PlayStation, see? I said the PlayStation.I told you, PlayStation.Alright, we're playing \"Pepsi Man.\"- Y'all know \"Pepsi Man?\"- No.- Oh, it's a good game.- Oh my God, okay, let's do it.- Whoa!- All right, so-- Oh, I see, it's like \"Temple Run.\"- Yeah, allright, I'm gonna jump.Okay, I ran over her.- She just ran.- Yeah, like, you know what?The Pepsi needs to bedelivered, all right?I am doing a great job of select,oh no!- Slide!- Slide!- Slide!- Oh no! The Pepsitruck killed Pepsi Man!- Slide next time.- I don't know what slide is!- Other button, yeah.- Oh, there it is.Yeah, I found, I found it.I'm running through your house, sorry.Don't mind me, it's Pepsi Man.Oops.- There's a roof there.- Yeah, I didn't notice that part.Well, we can confirmthat this goofy fake PS5actually does, in fact,play a PlayStation game.I can't be mad for 31bucks. I actually can't.What's? I don't-- That's some pistachio-assenvelope right there.- Well, I think I knowwhat this one is, I think.- Well, you should, you ordered it.- What? You think Iremember five minutes ago?That's why this show works,'cause we can accidentallydo the same contentover and over again and I never realize.Next up, we have a very nefarious-looking,squashed black box.There is nothing on thisbesides a label that says Gold White.- Dude, that'sdefinitely an S24 Ultra.- What makes you say that?- The box, it's theexact one that it ships in.- Behold, my friend.It's not a Galaxy S24 Ultra, oh no,it is a fact a Galaxy U24 Ultra.The U stands for-- You got scammed.- That's better thanwhat I was gonna say.- 22 times 03.- So out of the listingsthat we purchased today,at least based on the photos,this one looked the most legit.And at first glance, oh, snap, son.- No, that can't be,that can't be genuine, thebattery is still intact.- It's not smoldering it.I gotta say-- It's not real.That looks girthier.- Now, I can tell that it's not real.The feeling on the handis a little bit plasticy.The USBC port's not perfectly aligned,but man, this is pretty close.Wait, what the? Wait, hold on a second.Here's the actual upgrade,USBC earbuds in the box.What the hell?- Yo!- Alex daily drivesan S24 Ultra.- There's no titanium.I think it would fool people.- Yeah, I think so, too.- It wouldn't foollike, somebody who owns one.- But if you bought this from Temuthinking it's a Galaxy U24 Ultra,the thing is, the back looks good.Like, this is its best angle,is like, from the back,you flip it around to the front,and that don't look very Samsung-y to me.Those look very bright.- You wanna try that one again?- What?- Doesn't look too Samsung-y?- Samsung-y, you know, theact of being like Samsung.They've copied the icons over.I mean, it looks relatively close.I mean, it looks like italso reads like, seven FPS.Look at that.That is not the performanceof an S24 Ultra.But again, it's easier, Ithink, in a lot of ways,to fake Android phones,because most of the fake iPhones out thereare just running Android with a scan,which doesn't feel as authentic.But it's not that hardto take a basic core version of Android,throw a Samsung icon pack on itand sort of call it a day.So this is not good, I will tell you.I also don't think any of these camerasthat on the back are real.I think one of themis, I'm not sure which.Okay, is it this one? No.This one? No.This one! It's the smallest(toy squeaking) looking one.Lovely.Alex, would you be sokind as to illuminate uson the situation for thisparticular high-quality device?- What an odd way ofasking how much it costs.This phone costs $143.- Huh, I mean-- That is twice whatyou should have paid for that.(Austin laughing)- Well, Temu, this one's just nefarious.All right, and there wego, yeah, look at that.This is an Amazon shippinglabel from Shenzhen,oh good lord, why isthere no spaces in that?It literally is such a long name.It goes over the barcode by a lot.So this is an Amazon little labelfor our Rock (duckquacking) Dock I15 Ultra.- Wait, huh?You wanna roll that by me again, sir?- Gotta censor that one.- Rock (duck quacking) Dock.- Wait, can you show that to me?- Where's the button?(Alex laughing)- None.- There you go, you got it.- There you go.- I saw this listing and Iwas like, y'all are tripping.This is a fusion of a Galaxy S24 Ultraand an iPhone 15 Pro, I think.Okay, oh my God, it reallydoes look like this!So if you look at it from the side, right?So you got like, you know,from the front and the side,it all looks very Samsung-y.But what the hell is that?It's like you just stuckthe iPhone camera bumpon a Galaxy S24 Ultra.I will say, it does feel better though.It does feel better than the U24 Ultra.Boy, this is finger lock.Guys, guys, it's an actualfake fingerprint sensor.Hang on, wait, let's lock it,and let's see if the fingerprint works.I'm gonna use my knuckle.- Hey.- It's a fake fingerprint sensor.What do y'all think about this?I'm just curious,besides the fact thatit's gross and disgusting.- Oh, this is the finish thatthe U24 Ultra should have had.- And whilethey took a look at that,here, you can have this.- A second device? Okay.- Do you noticeanything interestingabout that label?- About the label?Why does it say Valerie (duckquacking) on this? What?- Well, what's inside the box?- Another one?- Yeah, yeah.So for whatever reason,Temu decided to send us twoof the exact same thing,but one box had a differentname, I don't know.- Wait-- But it is addressed to us.- So it's our address.The same phone, different Amazon seller,different brand name.This is unfortunatelynot a Rock Cock Dock,but it is the exact same phone, right?Wait, wait, this is an S24.- What is happening? Temu!- So, okay, how much did we payfor our single iPhone 15Ultra Pro Galaxy edition?- The I15 Ultra,the unholy combinationof a Samsung and Apple product was $150.- So they're all alsobasically the same price.It's like 150 fake, oh andI'm taking photos apparently.Oh boy. Look at that beautifuliPhone image quality.I don't think I need toexplain myself too muchwhen I say don't buy fake phones on Temu.Seems like a pretty bad idea.My real question is, isthis the exact same thing?'Cause it looks so similar.I actually really thinkthat this is just clearlylike a fake bump, right?Like it's actually not, itdoesn't do anything, right?I will say it's coming up some,but there actually issomething underneath it.I think that these lensesmight actually be on,it might just be theactual camera surround.So underneath their camera bump is,oh, that's really weird.Okay, so I think what's going onis Rock (duck quacking) Dockor whichever the realname of this company is,they basically make the chassis, right?So they make a fake S24.What they do is they then decide to put onsome stickers and some fake camera lensesand a skin with a fake dynamic islandto make it look like an iPhone,or they put a littlebit of a Samsung arrayof fake lenses on itand a Samsung icon pack,or they accidentally sendyou two, because Temu.I don't think I can recommendanyone to buy any of these.What I can recommend is ifyou're buying a used iPhoneor definitely a Galaxy S23, S24 Ultra,take a little bit of a closer look.Hardware-wise, these arenot far off the real thing.They're definitely not right.But if you don't have areal one on hand to compare,you might not totally notice.Although I don't thinkanyone's gonna be fooledby the iPhone. (laughs)So I know strictly speaking,this doesn't really belongin this video, right?There's no phone activities.But I would say that as I was scrollingthe deep dark inter workings of Temu,I saw RFID and said,\"That's close enough, I'mgonna put in the phone video.\"'Cause it's a fake Soda Stream!So it doesn't come withanything to make soda,it just is a carbonation device.So you add syrup, fruit, orFireball at your own peril.- Wait-- Did you just saycarbonated Fireball?- Yo, wait a minute.- Holy, what the, what?That is not Fireball.What the?- No, no, no.- So you got Jasminegreen tea and Boss Coffee,which is delicious,what the hell are weabout to make right now?Are we making carbonated coffee?- Aaron calls them crinks.(Austin and Alex laughing)- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.- Yeah, man. I'm not sure,where does this one go?(all laughing)So take off the cap.- No-- Activate, okay.I'm making sure it's not leaking!- Okay.- Can smell carbon dioxide.- Okay. Nobody dowhat he just did at home.- So let me just take somewater, I'm gonna put it in here,and then we're gonnajust try to juice it up.- Is it lined up?- Oh!- Oh, okay, okay.- Okay, okay.- All right, I got it.You push it all the way down, okay.So we're gonna do it two tothree seconds, one to two times.So one, two,that sounds cool as hell.All right, one more time.(soda maker whirring)- Wow.- That's some Darth Vaderbreathing over there.- Yeah!I mean, it does look a little nefariousin this bottle.- Drink it!- Okay, okay, okay, I'mdrinking, I'm drinking.- It's not gonnataste like anything.- Yeah, it's just water.- Is it carbonated?- Holy (duck quacking), that's carbonated.(Matt and Alex laughing)- Yeah!- This is what British people do.- Okay, I'm gonna makemyself a carbonated tea.All right, ready?(soda maker whooshing)Ooh, okay. Little too spicy on that one.- Had a little bit of an accident.- Man learns how to twist off-(all laughing)- Oh my God, that's amazing!- Wait, let me, wait, wait-- Wait! Try that.- All right, all right.Let's see what the deal is.- Wait, really?- Right?- Wait, it's actually good.- Carbonated coldsweet Jasmine tea.- Wait, that made that tastes better.Wait, what the? (duck quacks)- So how much did we payfor our Ultima Cosa Presto Frizzante?- Okay, so forreference, a actual Soda Stream-- Yep.- It ranges, it can goall the way up to like 250,but they're like on average, like 150ishor something like that.- Wow, that's a lot.Okay.- So for this fake one that we got-- Yep.- It was-- With the actual CO2 canister inside.- Yep, thatmonstrosity of a giant thing.- That's what I need in my life.- We paid $61.- You know what Temu, that ain't bad.- I just realized-- Yeah.- What about-- Yeah, go ahead.- If you use this on flat soda?- Yes.- To recharge it.- That's like saying-- Yes, that's ex-- That's like we'resaying when your car dies,what if you put more gas in it?- No.- Yes, that's exactlywhat it's saying.- No!\n"