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A Blog by Cabel Sasser

The Forged Apple Employee Badge

Here’s a quick and cautionary tale.

This eBay auction, spotted by Eric Vitiello, immediately caught my eye:

Wow. Someone was selling Apple Employee #10’s employee badge?! What an incredible piece of Apple history! Sure, it’s not Steve Jobs’ badge (despite the auction title), but there are only so many of these in the world — especially from one of the first ten employees.

I persistently pored through the provided pictures.

At first, it looked good. The plastic was scuffed with age, the tape on the map was yellowed, the logo was (mostly) correct, and Sherry Livingston really was Employee #10.

But it also felt a little off. The scuffing looked… sandpapery. The splotches on the map felt overcooked. And I couldn’t stop looking at the “typewritten” part…

This badge would’ve been (obviously!) made before desktop publishing. A badge template would’ve been printed by a local printing company, then fed into a typewriter to type the individual employee details. And that typed text is suspiciously uniform.

And just as I was beginning to 🧐, along came Chris:

“That’s… fake. Both of them.”

Oh snap. It’s really fake?

What does this Chris guy know, anyway? Well, he’s Chris Espinosa. Who just so happens to be Apple Employee #8.

(Trivia: he joined the company when he was 14… and still works there!)

And we know exactly what Chris’ badge looked like:

I asked Chris (who I truly admire!) for more thoughts:

So, yeah. One of the most qualified people on planet earth to say this is a fake, is saying this is a fake.

I had no choice at this point. I simply had to meddle.

From… the German Red Cross?! How specific!

It seems like the German Red Cross runs a kind of second hand/charity shop, so ok, sure. But why would the German Red Cross have the employee badge for Apple Employee #10?

I couldn’t wait. The seller sent the Red “Croos” proof just a few hours later. (Enough time to… create it?)

At first blush, again, this provenance looks pretty good, right? A German purchase receipt, dated 2001, for the item pictured. The right logo. A nice emboss. Seems plausible.

But, again again, I had a weird feeling — this series of photos was trying too hard. That binder labelled “BILLS 200[0]—2010”, conveniently flipped upside down for casual authenticity? Why would you put that in these photos unless you were trying a bit too hard to make your case? It felt like a set dresser trying to stage a movie scene.

The seller added:

As you can see, the invoice is expressed in the old German currency, the German mark, before the entry of the EURO in the years following.

No way. A regular human wouldn’t point this out. Someone proud of a detail they thought of in their forgery would point this out. This little detail would’ve been far more effective for me to discover on my own.

It was time to totally close the case. It was time to engage the internet.

The Mastodon response from Germans was swift and brutal.

There was no doubt. This “proof” was yet another forgery.

I told the seller this. And then, weirdly, for the amount of effort put into this, they made a very dumb error:

Wait… what?!?

I never received a reply.

Case closed!?

There’s just one small, sad problem…

…yes, the item sold before I could finish this post. So, my sincere apologies to whoever out there just spent $946.00 on a total (but interesting!) work of fiction.

Here are the key takeaways from our meeting today:

  • Beware of fraudulent pieces of Apple history
  • Don’t buy anything from this particular seller
  • When in doubt, Engage The Internet®

Best,
Cabel

PS: I hope you’re having a nice week

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  1. Elizabeth McGill

    there is nothing i enjoy more than Cabel emailing someone to call them out on a lie 🙂

    Reply
    1. Charles

      Oh you watched his GDC talk too? Cabel was having way too much fun with that one.

      Reply
  2. stephen

    I’ve got a Panic employee badge from 1956 I’d like you to authenticate.

    Reply
  3. 100% positive

    100% positive feedback

    Reply
  4. Eric Vitiello

    I also reported this to eBay a couple of times after Chris stated it was a fake. eBay both times sent back a response that they had found that it didn’t violate any of eBay’s rules. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    Reply
  5. John

    How could Chris’s badge be after Sherry (by 7 days) if he is employee 8 and she is Employee 10. That alone would validate as a fake for me. Great work on your analysis.

    Reply
    1. S Davis

      To be fair, it’s the date the ID was issued, which might not be correlated to the date they were hired and/or assigned an employee number. Presumably this would have been a rather chaotic period with a lot going on, so the idea that they may have hired several people, cardinally assigned employee numbers with their paperwork, and then produced/issued IDs sometime after without much concern for chronological consistency is perfectly reasonable. I think it’s a detail worth noting, but in isolation I wouldn’t consider it to be significant.

      Reply
  6. Dan

    I’m sorry, but I think the “Iphone Ipad” in the listing description screamed FAKE louder than the badge itself! 😂

    Reply
  7. Vishal

    At least it will be worth more now because of your deep dive into its fakeness =)

    Reply
  8. Harry McCracken

    Great post. eBay is just rife with fake cartoon-related stuff like forged Charles Schulz drawings, and seems to have no interest in doing anything about it.

    Isn’t the map a suspiciously-aged replica of a real map that Chris drew, complete with the “tennis courts?” It’s discussed in this 2011 post:

    https://www.cultofmac.com/128374/blast-from-the-past-floormap-of-apples-original-bandley-1-headquarters/#google_vignette

    Reply
  9. Harry McCracken

    The seller also recently sold a signed Steve Jobs letter that, at first blush, looks a bit questionable, especially some wording in the final paragraph that does not feel like something a typical native English speaker would say, let alone Steve Jobs.

    Reply
    1. cabel

      Oh, I’d love to see that.

      Reply
      1. Harry McCracken

        “Thank you for your fanciful effort…”

      2. cabel

        Not only the questionable English, but a poor understanding of USA address formatting — who doesn’t love Tennessee, Tennessee?

        Jim Varney
        333 West Dr
        White Horse, Robinson
        Tennessee, TN

        (That address is also a strip mall.) Everything they’ve ever sold is likely a fraud. Man.

      3. Phillip J

        The box office numbers provided in that doc aren’t even accurate. They completely ignore Pocahontas – #3 for the year as of Dec 29, 1995. https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1995/12/29/1995-box-office/?outputType=amp

      4. Phillip J

        even if I’m generous and assume that there was a delay in reporting numbers + TampaBay numbers were as of 12/25, seems odd that the 150mil number would have been known so definitively a day later – though don’t have Variety access to confirm. Hmm.

      5. Filip

        I love Your digging into the past and asking people who actually may know the facts, I find these kind of stuff somehow electrifyingly interesting too 😛 for such sheer curiosity and hoping nobody concerned feels uncomfortable about this, doesnt this person fit to actually being Sherry? https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/times-standard/name/sherry-livingston-obituary?id=8414546

      6. jfw

        That “fanciful effort” sentence also ends with a typo, “proyect.” Yeah, I’m sure.

        https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/IMEAAOSw15Vl-14C/s-l140.jpg

  10. Curious George

    Why did you include Chris’s badge in your post? Won’t this give the fraudster a genuine badge to imitate?

    Reply
    1. cabel

      I just googled for it — it’s not a secret, and I’m 98% sure he already used Chris’s badge as a guide to create this fraud.

      Reply
  11. simso

    It is crazy that the person even have a 100% positive feedback.

    Reply
  12. Niels

    A detail is also that we used DM for Deutsche Mark on Invoices. We were using only DEM for some international bank stuff

    Reply
  13. Volker

    Additional remarks:

    The German Red Cross logo (without stars) and design is completely different – you can even download the official design from the DRK page https://styleguide.drk.de/deutsches-rotes-kreuz/intern/geschaeftsdrucksachen

    German invoices have to have tax explicitly stated (probably 17% MWSt back then).

    The currency symbol used is DM, not DEM. Plus the ammount would (have to) include the Pfennig ammounts (thus “3.000,- DM” or “3.000,00 DM”)

    German date convention is “Day. Month Year”, thus “12.08.2001” or “12. August 2001” – only recently the ISO date 2001-08-12 is very slowly gaining track. Definitely never the USian date swap or slashes.

    For an invoice the payment conditions usually are printed below the amount.

    For invoices you usually have bank account information on the right side or at the bottom of the business paper, also more specifics about the incorporation (company type). Any invoice MUST have both, seller and vendor address data on it, usually includes phone and fax numbers.

    As DRK is a nonprofit it must have a declaration of being so and its tax payment state (usually added below the item list along with payment instructions and due dates).

    Reply
    1. Max

      Additionally, the Red-Cross-Logo in use is the current one from 2019. Back in 2001, the German Red Cross used a different Font style on all of its documents and logos. The one on the “invoice” is just from Wikipedia.

      Reply
    2. p.

      The idea that the Red Cross would waste money on indent on invoices just seems really strange. The text also looks like inkjet printing.

      Reply
  14. Thorsten Gorch

    beside the other hints also to mention the date format. In Germany we like standards also in documents. In this case national standard DIN 5008. In Germany, especially back in this time, an office worker would _never_ used the “/” to divert day from month to year.

    Reply
    1. Filip Strzałka

      I love Your digging into the past and asking people who actually may know the facts, I find these kind of stuff somehow electrifyingly interesting too 😛 for such sheer curiosity and hoping nobody concerned feels uncomfortable about this, doesnt this person fit to actually being Sherry? https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/times-standard/name/sherry-livingston-obituary?id=8414546

      Reply
  15. Pedro Soto

    It’s a pretty good bed that everything this guy has sold is a forgery! If that’s the case he’s made $20,000 this year alone on duping people, and he should not only be reported to eBay but to local authorities in Spain where he is apparently located.
    I really hope someone can help run with this who either knows someone at eBay who can shut this guy down and contact the unsuspecting buyers who have been victims of fraud.

    Reply
    1. Nina

      What exactly is the text next to ZIP and next to “Firma Stadt Str”? Btw, nobody would have written “company city street” like that, especially none of our good old German accountants, even worse: accountants working in the heavily controlled public sector. As a convention, you have to write the company name (and they are no company, are they) and under that, perfectly aligned if-you-please, street and number and again, under that, the zip code (which is Postleitzahl, abbr. PLZ in German) and the City.
      Again, looking at what has been painted over using a black pen seems to be a name, Kristof and something, where a zip code should have been. Makes absolutely no sense.

      Regarding ‘translation issues’: Yes, there are a lot. Like “Wir danken Ihnen für Ihr Unternehmen” which would imply that the Red Cross just received a company. That does not match the context.
      But this can happen if someone uses a dictionary as the word ‘business’ (thank you for your business) may lead to a German teapot (business = Geschäft) – but Geschäft can be used only in the sense of a company or a shop. In 2001, there were no online dictionaries that would’ve been used by the International Red Cross and btw why should they issue a German invoice.

      As a forensic analyst myself, I’d love to dive deeper into the original as with the given pictures that’s impossible due to heavy compression.

      Reply
  16. Randy Wigginton

    That also is not what Sherry Livingston looked like. She is blonde. And all the other reasons Chris’ lists.

    Reply
  17. Hauke

    Some more hints from the invoice:
    – “Verkäufer-name” should be “Verkäufername”
    – The usual abbreviation for the currency was DM, not DEM; DEM is the ISO code
    – “Zeilensumme” is a strange (but possible) wording in this context
    – “Zahlungsbedingung: Wohltätigkeitsauktion” – what? The payment condition is about *how* you pay (cash, money transfer…) not *why*
    – “Rechnung #” is strange, especially for that time and that organisation; “Rechnungs-Nr.” would be more common

    Reply
  18. Marc

    One more thing:
    The last line on the invoice is nonsense in german. It would translate to something like
    “We thank you for your enterprise”

    Reply
  19. Niek

    The EURO was introduced in Germany (and many other EU countries) the 1st of January 1999. Before the date on this invoice (8/12/2001) so that’s probably the biggest mistake, especially after he pointed it out…?

    Reply
    1. joxoyeb313

      In case it wasn’t clear, the currency listed on the invoice is DEM (Deutsch Mark, so not Euro!)

      Reply
    2. sven

      No, it was used from 1.1.2002 on.

      Reply
      1. joxoyeb313

        Just google for “when was the euro introduced in germany?” and you’ll find the answer right there. It never fails to surprise me how some people like to ‘correct’ others without doing a 1 second bit of research. And it may have been possible to pay with DM for a while after that, but nobody did. All ATMs gave out euro’s from midnight onwards, and certainly on invoices you would never request DM in 2001.

      2. Eric

        The notes were introduced in 2002 but Euro has been the official currency since 1/1/1999.
        Also I wasn’t in Germany at the time but in France, for a couple of years before the switch, it was mandatory for businesses to display prices in both currency.
        I would be surprised if that wasn’t the case in Germany too.

  20. Markus

    There are more clues to forgery:
    – date and date formatting: in Germany, you use dots, not slashes to separate date elements. So, it should be 8.12.2001 (if it was December 8, 2001) or 12.8.2001 (if it was August 12, 2001). Either way, the date is not feasible, because both dates refer to a weekend (Dec 8, 2001 = Saturday, Aug 12, 2001 = Sunday). Invoices are most unlikely to be issued on weekends
    – currency: the Euro was introduced on Jan 01, 1999. So, if the invoice had been made out in 2001, the currency should basically have been EUR. However, there was a transition period until June 30, 2002 during which the old currencies could still be used. So, an invoice in DM was basically still possible, yet quite unlikely.
    – on Jan 01, 1999, the old European currencies (such as DEM) were converted into EUR at a fixed conversion rate. If DEM 3000 were converted to USD at a recent rate, it would be around USD 1500. So, why would someone sell such a valuable item, 20 years after purchase, under value?

    Reply
    1. Daniel

      Bills in 2001 could include EUR but did not have to.

      I just checked a few of my 2001 bills, some had both, DM and EUR, others had DM only (about 70% had both).
      None had EUR only (which would probably not been allowed since the transition period was supposed to help customers getting used to the new values thus you had to provide conversion guidance).

      (One of the bills is from Apple for “Mac OS X 10.1 CD”, Mentions currency only in one place: “Währung Deutschemark”)

      Besides from that: Clear fake. Not a German bill.

      Reply
  21. Ken Baer

    Cabel, you singlehandedly restore my faith in humanity.

    Reply
  22. Brandon S.

    Additionally, on the badge, the label text (“Employee,” “Employee No,” etc.) is in Calibri, a default Microsoft Word font that was released in 2007

    Reply
  23. JK

    What about the paper format, is that likely to be DIN A4?

    Assuming it is, the printed content is too close to the punched holes I’d say. There was probably some kind of standard about the left margin back then, and even if not (or they didn’t follow it), an entity like that should have been able to produce invoices that are fully visible when filed.

    Reply
  24. Crt

    The deutsche Mark would be shortend to “DM” Not “dem”

    You found a forgery and im sure thats not the only two things forged for profit

    Reply
  25. yetzt

    So many thing obviously wrong. Like the american date format and “ZIP” instead of “PLZ/Postleitzahl”… The dead giveaway is the google translated “Wir danken Ihnen für Ihr Unternehmen”. This is obviously “We thank you for your business” but “Unternehmen” in that context means company or enterprise, so it reads as “We thank you for your enterprise” which does not make sense.

    Reply
  26. Maxi

    I advise you not to embed Mastodon toots. At the pace account migration is happening in the fediverse, you will probably lose half of your embeddings in less than 4 years.

    Reply
    1. cabel

      Yeah, I took screenshots so I can replace them with images if need be.

      Reply
  27. Tom H

    **Plot twist**: Someone at a fake Rotes Kreuz sold him the fake badge. (And — apparently separately — the fake map.) LOL!

    Reply
  28. jfw

    Fwiw I found no hits for the woman’s photo using reverse image search engines (PimEyes, FaceCheck.id, Yandex and Google). Looks a little too perfect. Maybe AI generated?

    Reply
  29. Theo

    Funny, I did my civilian service at the Red Cross shortly before 2001 and just a glance at the „invoice“ told me it’s fake. The logo was never ever centered on the page — on business communication always on the upper right corner.
    I’m also pretty sure that the standard font was also all Arial for text and employees weren’t allowed to deviate from that.

    Reply
  30. Erwin

    Your blog post just gave more value to this fake item, as it now has an interesting story attached to it.

    Reply
    1. cabel

      Fortunately, that’s not really how the auction or collectible world works. Provenance is everything and without it, the item is valueless. That said, it does make it more valuable to me! 😛

      Reply
  31. Martin Gittins

    Okay, now tell us if Michael Darius is real

    Reply
  32. Markus

    Boys,

    The longer I think about Sherlock Cabel’s investigations, the more I come to the conclusion that he himself bought the employee card from ebay and then – afterwards – realized that it was made up.

    So he made up his invesigative story to make him look good and to heal his wounds.

    Cabel, that’s ok, that is human.

    Would you just please take a final photo showing us you with “your” employeee card?

    Reply
  33. Stefan Schindler

    „Zeilensumme“ never seen this in any german document.
    „DEM“ no way, just „DM“

    Reply

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