Root [Verizon] Contemplating buying a Verizon Galaxy S3 my friend found

[KidFlash]

I got a Droid Bionic right when it came out, having faith in Motorola that they would unlock the bootloaders and everything would be fine in the smartphone world. I was mistaken, and the Bionic was ostracized for a long time, receiving ICS long after the Razr line, despite coming out earlier. Motorola is finally going to give us Jelly Bean and I still like my bionic, but I very tempting offer was put on the table.

My friend found a Verizon Galaxy S3 on the train ride home on Saturday. Since the phone had a pattern lock screen, my friend couldn't look into the contact list to call someone from it to get a hold of the owner. He has also left the phone on since in case someone called but he said no one has. He's done a factory reset on the phone and is selling the phone at a tempting price, in impulse buy territory (for smartphones at least) and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested. However, I'm concerned about a couple things. If the original owner reports it as lost/stolen, would it then have a bad esn and be unuseable on the network? Would doing an esn check be enough to make a decision? Or should I leave it be? I would really appreciate some input from you guys, sorry for the long post, I'm just feeling really ambivalent. D:

 

[DragonSlayer95]

First of all I can't stress how un smart it is for your friend to even think about selling someone else's property

But yes, I'm sure the owner has already reported it lost/stolen, meaning that esn is black listed. In other words, it's got a bad esn now.

Pretty much, you shouldn't even think to buy it.

 

[Mikestony]

Dragonslayer is correct.
Do the right thing. Don't buy the device, have your friend contact Verizon with the serial #, or esn, meid and try to locate the owner.
Everyone will have a clear conscience, the sun will shine, and dogs and cats will make peace

 

[Rxpert83]

Whoever buys that is going to end up with a phone they can't use once its blacklisted.

Turn the phone in.

 

[KidFlash]

You guys are right. I was letting my excitement to have an unlocked bootloader again get to me and not listen to the voice of morality. I'll tell him to get in touch with Verizon. Thank you hopefully I'll be able to join the S3 community in the future through better circumstances.

 

[cybertec69]

I got a Droid Bionic right when it came out, having faith in Motorola that they would unlock the bootloaders and everything would be fine in the smartphone world. I was mistaken, and the Bionic was ostracized for a long time, receiving ICS long after the Razr line, despite coming out earlier. Motorola is finally going to give us Jelly Bean and I still like my bionic, but I very tempting offer was put on the table.

My friend found a Verizon Galaxy S3 on the train ride home on Saturday. Since the phone had a pattern lock screen, my friend couldn't look into the contact list to call someone from it to get a hold of the owner. He has also left the phone on since in case someone called but he said no one has. He's done a factory reset on the phone and is selling the phone at a tempting price, in impulse buy territory (for smartphones at least) and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested. However, I'm concerned about a couple things. If the original owner reports it as lost/stolen, would it then have a bad esn and be unuseable on the network? Would doing an esn check be enough to make a decision? Or should I leave it be? I would really appreciate some input from you guys, sorry for the long post, I'm just feeling really ambivalent. D:

Your friend is a thief, nice friends you got there kid, all he had to do was go to Verizon and they would have found the owner. How would you feel if you lost your phone and someone is now trying to sell it.