In Russia, a notable wave of counterfeit smartphones has emerged, with dozens of devices closely mimicking popular brands like Realme, Xiaomi, and Tecno turning up in the catalogs of the country’s largest marketplaces. The situation has drawn attention from observers at CNews, who noted how the fakes blend into the online retail landscape while presenting a layered risk to consumers.
Industry watchers point out that many counterfeit sellers do not attempt to pass off these devices as genuine originals. Instead, they use subtle brand name distortions to create a sense of legitimacy while delivering hardware that diverges from official specifications. An illustrative case is the Realmei C55, a model name that resembles Realme but remains clearly non authentic. This model is offered at a price lower than the legitimate Realme C55, a tactic that aims to lure budget shoppers. In product descriptions, sellers often inflate technical specifications, claiming features such as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and 16 GB of RAM. Such exaggerations make the counterfeit device seem superior to the real counterpart and mislead buyers about actual performance and capabilities.
Beyond the Realme variations, counterfeit schemes extend to other well known brands with curious mislabelings. Redmi is encountered in forms like Redme or Readmi, while Poco appears as Pacoo or Poc0, and Infinix as Infin. Tecno sometimes surfaces as Toeno, and even high profile lines like iPhone appear in counterfeit incarnations such as i14 or i15. In some instances, these fake devices are not shipped from distant suppliers in China but originate from warehouses in the Moscow region, adding a layer of geographic plausibility that can mislead buyers into believing the products are locally sourced. Customers who purchase these fakes often report disappointing outcomes including poor build quality, unreliable performance, and subpar battery life.
Despite the ongoing entry of counterfeit models, publicly available reviews about them remain relatively sparse. This sparse feedback can signal lower consumer interest, yet it does not reduce the potential harm those devices can cause. Journalists have observed that the ZUNYI branding frequently appears in listings tied to counterfeit batches, a pattern that helps researchers and enforcement bodies trace the origin of suspicious products.
Marketplace operators have stated that sellers undergo thorough checks before publication and that cooperation with copyright holders is ongoing in the effort to curb the sale of counterfeit goods. While these assurances exist, independent investigations continue to reveal gaps in verification processes and the persistent appeal of low prices that drives demand for dubious devices.
There were prior reports that a Tecno model featuring a periscope camera would be priced at flagship levels within the Russian market, highlighting the tension between marketing promises and the actual value offered by counterfeit variants. These dynamics underscore the broader challenge faced by consumers who navigate online marketplaces with limited visibility into the authenticity of many listings.