Buying bad IMEI phones

[andrews317]

I was looking for a GS3 on ebay and I found one really cheap, but it says it has a bad IMEI for AT&T. I live out of the US, so I don't use AT&T but the carriers in my country use the same frequency as AT&T (850 and 1900 mhz). I read a bit about this bad IMEI and I know I won't be able to use it with AT&T network, but would I be able to use it in my country?

 

[neil154]

I would suggest that you speak to your phone company and ask them. That way you will have a certain answer that you know is correct (get the name and employee number of the person).

 

[mikedt]

Often the reason why a phone has a blacklisted IMEI or ESN, is that it's been reported stolen. So I wouldn't knowingly buy devices with blacklisted IMEIs and ESNs myself, because for all I know I could be helping to fence stolen property. IANAL but possessing, receiving and handling stolen property is a crime.

I'm sure that many stolen phones are disposed of overseas because of carrier IMEI and ESN blacklisting.

 

[SiempreTuna]

I agree: the phone is almost certainly stolen.

When the ad says the IMEI is 'bad' they mean that it has been blacklisted and IMEIs only get on the blacklist if the phone has been reported stolen or the IMEI has been cloned.

In either case, you're better off avoiding the phone.

The blacklist is shared across all carriers in a country. There was talk of sharing blacklists across countries but I don't think that's happened.

 

[El Presidente]

Often the reason why a phone has a blacklisted IMEI or ESN, is that it's been reported stolen. So I wouldn't knowingly buy devices with blacklisted IMEIs and ESNs myself, because for all I know I could be helping to fence stolen property. IANAL but possessing, receiving and handling stolen property is a crime.

I'm sure that many stolen phones are disposed of overseas because of carrier IMEI and ESN blacklisting.

Basically, this.

A bad IMEI generally means it's been blacklisted, stolen or altered. My advice would be to steer clear altogether as you may be handling stolen property.

Given the potential legal issues, I'll lock the thread. If you've issues with that, you're more than welcome to drop me a PM.