Some 100 people nationwide fell victim to a scam that asked them to buy prepaid phone cards to get a free iPhone, the Bohai Morning Post reported.

The report said that about 100 people paid for fake phone cards and got fake iPhone 4S mobile phones.

The Shanghai Public Security Bureau has arrested 12 people suspected of being involved in the scam in Qingpu district, Shanghai.

One of the suspects, surnamed Zhang, said that the group randomly contacted people pretending to be from a reliable store.

They would ask people to spend 2,000 yuan ($333) on prepaid phone cards to get an iPhone4S.