Apple cracking down on unofficial iPhone resellers, tracking how many phones you buy

First came news that Apple was limiting iPhone purchases to two per customer. Next came word that the company had stopped accepting cash and gift certificates for iPhones. Now it seems that the company is tracking how many iPhones each customer is purchasing in an apparent attempt to crack down on unofficial resellers who are purchasing phones, unlocking them, then selling them to customers internationally.

Customers who attempt to purchase more than a certain number of iPhones on a single credit card or otherwise trip the wire are receiving this message from Apple Store customer support:

"It appears that your recent Apple Store order is for products intended for resale. While Apple appreciates your company's support of Apple's technology and products, the Apple Store you placed this order with sells products to end-user customers only, and the order has therefore been cancelled. You may wish to review the Sales and Refunds Policy."

"For information about joining Apple as a reseller, visit (this site). For orders that exceed nine iPods, please contact our Corporate Gifting and Rewards team at 1-877-275-IPOD."

Some users are getting around this problem by simply creating new accounts with the online Apple Store (which apparently will allow usage of the same credit card).

Other users are apparently being asked to sign a "no resell" form in order to purchase more than two iPhones.

With the advent of AppSnap -- an on-iPhone jailbreak/third-party app installation procedure -- unlocking iPhones has become a facile process.

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