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April 15th, 2010, 09:36 GMT · By

New iPhone OS 3.1.3 Jailbreak & Unlock Scams

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Don fall for the iPhoneWorldwide.com scam!
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It never ceases to amaze us how many “unlocking-sites” emerge every other month. The two most recent such sites we’ve found go to great lengths to advertise themselves as being legit. Don’t be fooled, they’re not! Although Softpedia does not condone jailbreaking and / or unlocking the iPhone software, it’s certainly worth mentioning that the tools these scammers sell so you can hack your device (which, half the time, goes wrong) are available completely free of charge, right from the people who coded them.

“With Apple's continued attempts to reverse your unlock, it is essential you choose an unlocking partner who will guarantee that your phone remains unlocked,” a banner over at iPhoneWorldwide.com, a site charging money for unlocking and jailbreaking iPhones, reads. It includes a shopped image of two Apple store employees and some Apple promo material with the message, “Used by Applestore employees.”

Other tantalizing annotations include: “It is no surprise we are the industry leader,” and “iPhoneWorldwide has been chosen by Telemina.com, one of the leading global mobile phone unlocking companies as their preferred supplier of iPhone unlocking solutions.” In fact, Telemina.com is just as big of a scam as they are, at least when it comes to its iPhone “unlocking” services.

iPhoneWorldwide goes as far as stating, “We are constantly being contacted by more and more people who have been conned by scam sites claiming a guaranteed unlock for 3G & 3Gs iPhones running version 3.1.3. If a site claims this they are intentionally out to mislead you,” although it is just as rotten.

“Accidentally updated to 3.1.3 & lost your unlock status? Use our solution to regain your unlock & guarantee it doesn’t happen again,” another banner reads. Regardless of whether they actually get the job done when a naive customer approaches them, the tools to hack a device running iPhone OS 3.1.3 are already available as free downloads to everyone on the planet. Although Softpedia doesn’t condone hacks, if you’re going to do it anyway, here’s what you need to know.

The infamous iPhone Dev Team is a group of hackers best known for providing the most reliable jailbreak & unlock solutions for iPhone and iPod touch owners worldwide. Its free PwnageTool application can effectively hack a stock IPSW file downloaded from Apple’s servers, making it bootable on most iPhone and iPod touch models. Following the process of hacking the iPhone software, the user can find additional uses for the device.

If an unlock cannot be retrieved using these guys’ tool, the likes of iPhoneWorldwide.com surely don’t pack the necessary goods either.

There’s also a hacker notorious for his Blackra1n tool that also jailbreaks the iPhone and iPod touch. Provided free of charge, just like the iPhone Dev Team’s PwnageTool app, George Hotz’ Blackra1n does the job both for Mac owners, and for Windows PC users.

IF iPhoneWorldwide.com even offers any piece of software to unlock a customer’s device, it’s likely one of the two (PwnageTool or Blackra1n).

An app called QuickPwn is also available from the iPhone Dev Team. It targets Windows PC jailbreakers. The software hasn’t yet gained support for the latest iPhone software.

“Our solution includes an additional application which allows you to add fantastic extra applications only available on unlocked & jailbroken iPhones...1000's of extra's, ABSOLUTELY FREE,” another message on the respective fraudulent website goes. iPhoneWorldwide.com is talking about Cydia or Icy, two installers included when jailbreaking a device using either of the aforementioned tools. So, it’s not a benefit that they throw in, but something that comes with the jailbreak.

Either way, Apple device owners are advised to steer clear of sites like iphoneworldwide.com, as well as dev.macgeekblog.com, iphoneunlocking.com, unlockiphone22.com, the-iphone-unlock.com, and telemina.com. All these sites (and many others) trick users into paying for otherwise free tools that aren’t all that legal to begin with.

Surprisingly, not that many sites advertise iPad jailbreaking tools, although this is bound to happen soon enough.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK:

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READER COMMENTS:


Comment #1 by: Jeremy on 15 Apr 2010, 10:36 UTC reply to this comment

Thank you for reporting on this. I have been eagerly awaiting the 3.1.3/5.12.01 unlock for what feels like an eternity. The people who run sites such as these are dangerous and their sites can spread digital diseases. I hope people have the common sense to stay away and know who they can trust.


Comment #2 by: Eddie65 on 15 Apr 2010, 16:12 UTC reply to this comment

Thanks for that info as I aM one who thinks have been coned with can I rely on this site to keep me posted when jailbreak for05.12.01 is out. Thanks EDDIE 65


Comment #3 by: RAPTOR on 15 Apr 2010, 23:55 UTC reply to this comment

Hi and thanx for your comments. I cant agree more about these phony sites, but I am amazed to see on your site and others such as redmondpie.com an advertisment for a fake unlocking service such as autoiphoneunlocker.com who pay you to be able to advertise the exact same scam ?!!


Comment #4 by: SorinBrabete on 16 Apr 2010, 06:42 UTC reply to this comment

Advertisements shown on this site are served by Google's Adsense network. If you see an ad for a fake or illegal site, click on the "ads by google" text and report it.


Comment #5 by: William on 18 Apr 2010, 07:42 UTC reply to this comment

Hi, I unlocked my phone with these guys over a year ago (i guess before all the 3.1.3 confusion). I knew of all the unlock tools and read all the posts but I still didn't want to 'go it alone'. Note Eddie 65: They keep me up to date with every release & any potential problem so don't worry, sure they'll come through. In addition, I agree. I was scammed first time around by easy-iphone-unlock or something like that, no support, no instructions, no help and they advertise on your site!!


Comment #6 by: Sam on 20 Apr 2010, 06:01 UTC reply to this comment

I have tried many different options to jailbreak my 3g that has the 3.1.3 firmware on it. How can i forsure jailbreak it?


Comment #7 by: Dave on 27 Apr 2010, 15:43 UTC reply to this comment

Also please watch out for www.unlockiphone4.org. They are a fraud. My impatience in getting my iphone 3GS up and running again caused me to lose $33.42, not to mention the frustration and disappointment of being scammed. Once bitten,once shy as they say. I am now waiting like many others for the Iphone Development Team or GeoHot to work their magic. Dont get ripped off like I did. Its a horrible feeling.

Comment #7.1 by: james on 10 May 2010, 00:50 GMT

ok, now i was scammed by http://www.unlockiphone4.org took my money and doesnt work at all. now im finding out the real truth. im really pissed for being so stupid!

Comment #7.2 by: Chante on 13 Aug 2010, 13:33 GMT

Contact the agency who took your money, and they will be able to investigate and get a refund for you. In my case it is iphoneworldwide.com and they used dalpay.is. Dalypay have been extremely helpful.

Goodluck


Comment #8 by: garry on 02 May 2010, 07:48 UTC reply to this comment

there is another one out there that sucks you in to pay but does'nt work
and it is done by ww enterprice geohot rc3


Comment #9 by: Jim on 02 May 2010, 08:59 UTC reply to this comment

add another going by the name of http://www.iphoneunlockuk.com their site claims iPhone 3G and new iPhone 3GS version 3.1.2 and 3.1.3 unlock (05.11.07 and 05.12.01 basebands) NOW AVAILABLE, including FREE upgrade to version 4.0! but once you pay and try to download you’ll find them saying they had to take the software offline temporarily whilst they fix a com issue, the software never went online and they change the expected release date by the week

There will be no fix to everyone locked out before 4.0


Comment #10 by: Chante on 13 Aug 2010, 13:27 UTC reply to this comment

Unfortunately I was one of those fools who fell for Iphoneworldwide.com. I contacted Dalpay who operates their payment system and explained that I have been duped as IW did not deliver the service that I paid for. They say they will refund me my money as per their policy. So I urge all the people who have been done by these low lives to do the same and to drag IW to the ground so that noone else falls for this. Incidentally the provider unlocked my phone for free which I did not know at the time. Many thanks for your helpful article.

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