A software engineer from Bengaluru claimed that he found a piece of tile inside the box of a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 smartphone delivered to him after he ordered it online for Rs 1.86 lakh, police said on Friday.
The buyer, 43-year-old Premanand from Yelachenahalli, allegedly had ordered the phone online on October 14 and filed a police complaint after receiving the bizarre package on October 19.
According to the complaint, Premanand ordered the phone from an e-commerce platform on October 14 and paid online using his credit card. The package was delivered on October 19 at around 4.16 pm.
He recorded a video while unboxing the parcel and was shocked to find only a square piece of white tile inside instead of the high-end smartphone.
Premanand first lodged a complaint with the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and later approached the local police, who registered the FIR under Sections 318(4) (cheating) and 319 (cheating by personation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and Section 66D (cheating by personation using computer resources) of the Information Technology Act.
On X, reactions poured in, one user quipped, “Stone tile unboxing... now that’s what I call a rock-solid warranty,” while another joked, “Phone got bricked even before use.”
Others advised caution, “Never buy such expensive gadgets online. Go to a shop — they’ll usually match the discount.”