Like many bargain hunters this past weekend, Robin Crowley of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, thought she found a deal on a new iPad Air. Robin told CTV, “I actually researched in the flyers for Black Friday deals and Target as far as I was concerned had the best deal.” Buying what was sold as a brand new iPad, the shopper was surprised when she opened up the sealed box and turned on the gadget.

Robin Crowley with the 'new' iPad from Target. (CTV)

The device did not default to a setup screen, but instead Robin said she found the personal information of the tablet’s previous user which included, “Hundreds of pictures of friends and family. Her complete schedule that was on the calendar there. There was three pages of apps that she had obviously added.” The tablet’s address book also contained contact information of over 207 people.

The 'new' iPad contained hundreds of photos, contacts, apps and calendar appointments. (CTV)

With further investigation Robin deduced that the device was used by a California woman and she noticed that there was a demonstration label on the box. She’s unsure if the previous owner is an Apple employee and due to the Thanksgiving holiday CTV received no response when they reached out to the company.









A demonstration label was found on the iPad box. (CTV)

Robin works for the Waterloo Regional Police and said that she worried about what could have happened with the personal info. “If I was her I would be pretty upset and I also think if it got into the wrong hands that could be pretty dangerous,” Robin said adding, “As soon as I finish night shift I am going to go to Target and talk to them, see about returning it so that I can get a brand new one cause as far as I’m concerned, that’s not brand new.”





Lisa Gibson of Target Canada sent a statement to CTV that read: "The privacy of our guests is of paramount importance and this is the first time we have heard of this type of event. We are investigating it with our partners at Apple and are happy to keep you posted as we learn more."

More info: CTV

UPDATE December 4, 2013 8:27 AM PST :

Lisa Gibson of Target Canada contacted Yahoo! News and provided this updated statement: “At Target the privacy of our guests is of paramount importance. We looked into the matter and determined that a guest was mistakenly sold an unopened demo unit filled with demo content and no personal information was shared. We are working with our store sales teams to reinforce protocols in this regard.”