Has anyone bought a DSLR with a fake serial or model number?

T

tombell

Suspended / Banned
Messages
2
Edit My Images
No
Hi,

I'm a researcher for the BBC One consumer affairs series Fake Britain. We are currently investigating DSLRs that have appeared on the UK market with counterfeit serial numbers, and even whole body panels switched for those of more expensive models.If this has happened to you or anyone you know and you would like to be part of a feature warning British consumers about the issue, then I would love to hear from you.

You can reach me by private message, or at thomasbell@screenchanneltv.co.uk. All information will be handled in strictest confidence.

Many thanks to Matt for giving me permission to post this request.

Thanks for reading,

Tom
 
Saw in teh news today that a Jessops store has been robbed, and there's £50,000 of gear out there now... watch out for anything "too good to be true".
 
Graham W said:
I do remember talk of it a year or so ago, though I don't recall any actual incidents.
Much more likely, I suspect, (Though not as "sexy".) is the counterfeiting of memory cards.
Click to expand...
Counterfeit memory cards have been around for years.
 
It does happen maybe,another forum i use a member in America bought a supposed D750 when he received it he found it was a D7100 with the number altered , after putting images on the forum he vanished so was he just one of these sad users that feel the need to knock the competition
 
Never heard of anyone getting a counterfeit DSLR though there are obviously those with vested interests in suggesting the 'grey' market is flooded with them.
 
boliston said:
Would require the camera to be reprogrammed so that the s/n in the exif matches the s/n on the body
Click to expand...
The counterfeiters don't bother with this, once its sold as the more expensive version thats it. The buyer then quickly realises by which point its too late.
 
mikew said:
It does happen maybe,another forum i use a member in America bought a supposed D750 when he received it he found it was a D7100 with the number altered , after putting images on the forum he vanished so was he just one of these sad users that feel the need to knock the competition
Click to expand...

Sounds very unlikely. About as probable as someone buying a Ford Focus and believing it to be a Bentley because the badge said so.

I don't believe there are any fake cameras about, or that it's even remotely probable. There is good evidence of serial numbers being changed, presumably to fox local distributors in the case of a warranty claim, but as we have seen (PetaPixel link above) that won't pass any but the most superficial checks.

There are a lot of fake memory cards about, some batteries too (that's worrying) but in the photo market what's actually driving any issues around cameras is the grey market problem. For the OP's benefit, that would make a really good BBC investigation - it's been around for decades, it's big and getting bigger, it's robbing the IR of mi££ions, putting UK dealers out of business and costing UK jobs.

I used to take the moral highground on that, but given that the Japanese parent companies passively encourage it (they could stop it easily) and the government doesn't seem to care, I'm losing sympathy. Eg, Canon 5DSR is £3,200 at UK retail, under £2,000 as a grey...
 
HoppyUK said:
Sounds very unlikely. About as probable as someone buying a Ford Focus and believing it to be a Bentley because the badge said so.

I don't believe there are any fake cameras about, or that it's even remotely probable. There is good evidence of serial numbers being changed, presumably to fox local distributors in the case of a warranty claim, but as we have seen (PetaPixel link above) that won't pass any but the most superficial checks.

There are a lot of fake memory cards about, some batteries too (that's worrying) but in the photo market what's actually driving any issues around cameras is the grey market problem. For the OP's benefit, that would make a really good BBC investigation - it's been around for decades, it's big and getting bigger, it's robbing the IR of mi££ions, putting UK dealers out of business and costing UK jobs.

I used to take the moral highground on that, but given that the Japanese parent companies passively encourage it (they could stop it easily) and the government doesn't seem to care, I'm losing sympathy. Eg, Canon 5DSR is £3,200 at UK retail, under £2,000 as a grey...
Click to expand...

While there aren't many "fakes", Nikon have been dogged by a few fraudsters selling lower end models badged as higher end / updated versions;

http://petapixel.com/2015/04/14/nikon-warns-of-more-fake-dslrs-d610-and-d4s-now-on-watch-list/

I'm amazed by;

"The company says that service centers have discovered $1,000 D7100 crop sensor cameras that were modified to look like $1,500 full frame D610 DSLRs."

I'd like to have thought the customer noticed that??
 
Last edited:
boliston said:
Would require the camera to be reprogrammed so that the s/n in the exif matches the s/n on the body
Click to expand...
How many photographers look at the exif data?
 
HoppyUK said:
... in the photo market what's actually driving any issues around cameras is the grey market problem. For the OP's benefit, that would make a really good BBC investigation - it's been around for decades, it's big and getting bigger, it's robbing the IR of mi££ions, putting UK dealers out of business and costing UK jobs.

I used to take the moral highground on that, but given that the Japanese parent companies passively encourage it (they could stop it easily) and the government doesn't seem to care, I'm losing sympathy. Eg, Canon 5DSR is £3,200 at UK retail, under £2,000 as a grey...
Click to expand...
Hear hear. I'm still trying to hold the moral high ground, but it's becoming increasingly more difficult. I really don't understand why HMRC don't seem to care about these issues.
 
There was a story just the other day about Canon USA going after counterfeiters.

It was reported - rather sloppily, I thought - that they were clamping down on grey market importers. However the specific allegations weren't so much about greyness per se, but related to alleged practices such as changing or removing serial numbers, supplying counterfeit and potentially unsafe chargers, etc. If proven, that's pretty blatantly illegal.

Here's the story:
http://www.photographybay.com/2015/...al-and-others-to-stop-gray-market-dslr-sales/
 
3 years ago the now defunct, procamerashop supplied a Canon body with a fake serial #
Makes me wonder how widespread it was & if it happened more often than folk realised.

As below;

redsnappa said:
How many photographers look at the exif data?
Click to expand...
 
POTN thread post that explained the 5D3 counterfeit serial that Digital Rev supplied. @tombell might want to contact the poster directly there.

I ordered the camera, via credit card on the 19th Sept. |I had an email from them regarding security details etc… so i spoke to them and they sent the camera, a 5D3, 24-105L, spare battery etc, 2 weeks later. All was good, until around 4 weeks later, i started to get a vertical line ( shown at the start of the thread) in some of my images, mostly 1/30th F4 to 125 F/4. I emailed DR, together with images outlining the problem. They replied saying that they will cover the cost of the postage, but only to £40.

The cheapest quote i have, with insurance for the £2,550 was £160. I mail DR telling them this, and they told me to send it to them, again stating no more than £40 for postage. (i have ALL emails as evidence). After a few more emails, i demanded the local warranty, as stated on their website, and the warranty card. They agreed, and told me they would reimburse me on postage.

I sent the camera to a genuine service center in the UK (there where only 2 listed that where authorised to service the 5D3, one in Glasgow, the other was Canon Uk themselves), so opted for Canon Glasgow. They received the camera, and 2 days later i phoned to see if they had found a problem, they did. nearly 2 weeks later, i get 2 e mails, one from Glasgow explaining that they would't repair it due to a counterfeit serial number; the other from Canon UK direct, saying that the camera had a counterfeit serial number (i've kept these for evidence for the CC company).

I phoned Glasgow, they concluded that the sensor was duff, and needed replacing, and they, and Canon themselves advise me to get as refund. Canon said they are reporting DR for the counterfeit serial. Yesterday, i emailed DR saying that the camera would not be repaired, and that i was very unhappy, and that the camera had a counterfeit serial.
Click to expand...

Continued at:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=15249104
 
tombell said:
and even whole body panels switched for those of more expensive models
Click to expand...
The only camera body swap I have seen are on those Panasonic cameras that have had Leica front panels attached.
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
odd jim said:
This issue appeared to stem from the issuing of non Canon serial numbers to genuine cameras (possibly after a refurb or oddities in the supply chain) rather then a "fake" cameras themselves.
Click to expand...

That seems to be exactly what @tombell is investigating, he mentions counterfeit serial numbers in his post.

tombell said:
Hi,

I'm a researcher for the BBC One consumer affairs series Fake Britain. We are currently investigating DSLRs that have appeared on the UK market with counterfeit serial numbers
Click to expand...
 
Dave1 said:
That seems to be exactly what @tombell is investigating, he mentions counterfeit serial numbers in his post.
Click to expand...
That'll teach me to forget the OP! I admit I concentrated on the lower end bodies / badges being replaced and sold as more expensive ones. The two issues are very different as the cameras with the counterfeit serial numbers as still genuine bodies but have had the supply chain hidden (or a mistake in the supply chain which resulted in a refurb being re sold as new), the other is a wholly miss sold fraud.
 
Last edited:
StewartR said:
There was a story just the other day about Canon USA going after counterfeiters.

It was reported - rather sloppily, I thought - that they were clamping down on grey market importers. However the specific allegations weren't so much about greyness per se, but related to alleged practices such as changing or removing serial numbers, supplying counterfeit and potentially unsafe chargers, etc. If proven, that's pretty blatantly illegal.

Here's the story:
http://www.photographybay.com/2015/...al-and-others-to-stop-gray-market-dslr-sales/
Click to expand...

And reported again in PetaPixel
http://petapixel.com/2015/11/23/canon-is-suing-gray-market-camera-gear-dealers/#more-192178
 
Hi all,

Apologies for leaving this thread for a while. Thanks very much for the replies above - some great info and links to articles/threads which have been genuinely useful.

All best,
Tom
 
I have a vague recollection from several years back of a fake Jessops in (?) the Canary Islands who were selling fake Canons to gullible tourists. Of course, my memory isn't that good - anyone else remember the story?
 
redsnappa said:
The only camera body swap I have seen are on those Panasonic cameras that have had Leica front panels attached.
Click to expand...


There were fake Nikon D800E camera around for a while. There was even a warning on the Nikon website for a while. They were standard D800 with new top plate.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top