• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Craigslist/Stolen phone

Z

ZaynabCrouse

Newbie
My son bought the Samsung Galaxy indulge on craigslist for $175 He took it to his friends metro store and they said its stolen and he cannot activate it! :mad: He suggested my son go to the corporate store but also said that they might confiscate the phone, so is there any way to reset the esn number on the phone so he can activate it without going to the corporate store and risking losing his money?
 
Modifying the esn or IMEI number is illegal. How did he pay for this phone? Even if he can't reverse the charges I'd report it to the police with as much contact information about the seller as possible.

If he takes it to the corporate store, they may discover that it wasn't necessarily stolen, but just deactivated and blocked. If it was stolen and they do confiscate it, perhaps it's a hard (and expensive) lesson, but returning it to the original owner is more important.
 
Cant he just go to the corp location with out the phone in hand and give them the ESN or IMEI number to confirm if its able to activate.
 
lunatic59 said:
Modifying the esn or IMEI number is illegal. How did he pay for this phone? Even if he can't reverse the charges I'd report it to the police with as much contact information about the seller as possible.

If he takes it to the corporate store, they may discover that it wasn't necessarily stolen, but just deactivated and blocked. If it was stolen and they do confiscate it, perhaps it's a hard (and expensive) lesson, but returning it to the original owner is more important.
Click to expand...

This.

How / where did he get the phone? Any way to get a hold of the seller again? Effing thief, bust his arse! I wouldn't count on the cops though, they won't give a damn about one phone. Do a little bit of detective work yourself...

Remember folks, if noone bought stolen property, there would be less thievery, because there would be no market to sell it! So don't buy stolen property! Anyone who has ever had something stolen from them knows, it sucks!
 
wow seems alot of ya being scammed by sellers on criaglist and yes that link that ciper posted is from the howardforums we have had already two people that have fallin for the same non-sense. i said over there and ill say it here DO NOT BUY ANY USE PHONE FROM PEOPLE OFF THE STREETS OR CRAIGLIST,FLYER without making sure the phone works and that u can call 611 or *228 to activate it just fine if the seller gets nervous or pushy trying to make u give him the money already DO NOT GIVE HIM ANY MONEY!!
 
when i buy a phone on clist the first thing i do is ask them for the emei number before i even buy see the person. i then call metropcs to make sure the number is not reported missing or stolen.
 
Why are people always going the cheapway when it comes to certain products!...people when it comes to technology buy it the right way. Then, fiddle withit. When it comes to buying off some dude from the back of his trunk. Guess what! You're gonna get DICKED! Plain and simple....lesson learned lady......
 
n4zty said:
ROFL they paid $175 how bout $31 and a stick of bubble gum ......=))
Click to expand...
The phone is only good for parts if its blacklisted properly. There is no "esn repair" for it and no one has figured out how to "flash" it to another provider so its a brick.

I want to do a teardown and post pictures for all of you to see
 
Changing ESNs is illegal. We don't condone or allow that here. Your best bet is to report the situation and the seller to the police, because technically you are in possession of stolen property and you now know it.

Edit: Post deleted for rudeness. Keep it respectful. Those are the rules here. Read them. The link to them is in my signature for such a time as this.
 
Besides -
- The phone has an MEID so the "ESN" you see is actually a pseudo esn which is only for backwards compatibility. I dont believe you can change it as its generated automatically using the MEID and they have to "match"
- The ICCID is tied to that MEID in Metros system so it wouldnt be able to get 4G coverage. This is why they say not to remove the sim card.
- If they did things right the IMEI should be blacklisted meaning it wont work on any other carrier International Mobile Equipment Identity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I still offer to do a teardown of the phone. If others want to pitch in let me know
 
And let this be a warning to anyone else trying to get a cheap indulge!
Or any other used cellphone or electronic equipment for that matter. Remember, if it's "too good to be true" there's a good chance that that's exactly right and you're getting fooled!
/thread
 
How about doing the RIGHT thing. He bought stolen property. It should be reported and he should take whatever the consequences are. The rightful owner should get their equipment back. That is the RIGHT thing. If there is a loss of money, it is a lessen learned to investigate before you buy. It is easy to ask the carrier to verify if the device can be activated BEFORE you buy. If you don't do this, you are helping the thief, and in many ways, complicit in the trafficking of stolen goods.
 
If I sell any of my old phones I ALWAYS meet the person at a Metro store inside for 2 reasons

1) If the person is shady or has something up their sleeve, they are less likely to do something like " rob you for your phone and cash " in a public place.

2) I make sure the person I am selling the phone to knows that he or she can get the phone activated. I have them pull up the ESN number on the phone I am selling to verify in front of them that the phone is not stolen.

It gives both the potential buyer and myself piece of mind.
 
Yes it was an expensive lesson learned :) I took the phone to Metro pcs and turned it in, I hope that they actually gave it back to the owner :) I decided to go with another carrier though because of Metro's very bad customer service policy (they acted like I stole the phone) I have much better reception now :) Thanks for the advice everybody and the encouragement :)
 
I've tried to buy a cellphone from about a dozen different Craigslist sellers. Every one of them backed out at the last minute when I tried to set up the sale at a store so I could register the phone. Most of them were Brand New in Box phones. Obviously they're getting their hands on phones somehow. My recommendation is not to buy a phone online unless they agree to meet at a store or dealer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom