Chinese copies have been a problem for many years. However, recently they have gotten better which makes them more dangerous. If you are here to buy a Sirocco Gold, I ca assure you 100% of them are fakes, in one way or another. Sirocco Gold was made in limited quantities, you are very naive if you think you can get a deal on ebay for $500-$600. Most common fake practices are as follows;

 

These phones will perform just like a 8800 but look like a 8800 Sirocco Edition. They will have 0.3 MP cameras instead of 2 MP and they will boast a 64 MB memory instead of 128 MB that comes with the Sirocco Edition. When you put in *#0000#, it will say "RM-13" as the firmware instead of "RM-165". Outside of your box should read "8800d", most fakes read "8800Sirocco". However, fakers are getting better, DO NOT TRUST *#0000# OR THE STICKER TEST ANYMORE. I will explain in the next section.

 

It is possible to flash a Nokia 6111 as a Sirocco. This is a trick used so that *#0000# will read "RM-165". This is precisely why you are seeing Sirocco Gold phones for $500.

 

These are complete fakes/clones not even using Nokia parts at all. *#0000# will not yield any results because that is a Nokia code. They will look noticebly different from the real deal in terms of physical look.

 

Lastly, USE YOUR COMMON SENSE. A new Sirocco will go for about $600-$700, do not buy from anyone but trusted sellers with 99% or more positive feedback. If you are shopping for a Sirocco Gold, accept the fact that the best you will get is an authentic Sirocco in a gold housing, and that is OK if the housing is high quality but it will never feel as solid as the authentic Nokia housing. You WILL NOT be able to find an authentic Sirocco Gold on ebay, or anywhere else for that matter but the Nokia Store and I am sure they have run out of them already.