Database Users

Looking for advice on possible scam.

So I just sold my girlfriends fascinate on ebay. I shipped a few days ago and just got this message from the buyer.
Thanks for the fast shipping. damn it sucks to say, but i went to have the phone activated at the verizon store. they not only said it can't be activated because its on the reported stolen list, but they confiscated it. i didnt know it couldnt be used, it should of never been listed. anyways, if you didnt know this either, no hard feelings. i wont contact ebay or paypal if you refund my payment right away so i can buy another one.
I have a good feeling that this a POS trying to scam me. I'm looking for some advice on how to respond to this issue. By the way the phone is not stolen in any way shape or form. I know this is kind of off topic but I figured this would be a good place to receive some advice.

Uh yea. I'd say it's a scam
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

ajd88 said:
So I just sold my girlfriends fascinate on ebay. I shipped a few days ago and just got this message from the buyer.
Thanks for the fast shipping. damn it sucks to say, but i went to have the phone activated at the verizon store. they not only said it can't be activated because its on the reported stolen list, but they confiscated it. i didnt know it couldnt be used, it should of never been listed. anyways, if you didnt know this either, no hard feelings. i wont contact ebay or paypal if you refund my payment right away so i can buy another one.
I have a good feeling that this a POS trying to scam me. I'm looking for some advice on how to respond to this issue. By the way the phone is not stolen in any way shape or form. I know this is kind of off topic but I figured this would be a good place to receive some advice.
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Did he verify the ESN prior to buying the phone? If not, its his fault and there is nothing he can do. Explain the situation to ebay and open a dispute.

He did not verify esn. I just thought it was strange that he would be trying to pull this when he has a 98.6% positive feedback rating with over 2000 transactions.

It will be easier if you have the device ID. Contact Verizon and get paper work from them showing the device has a clean ESN. This will only work if you are either still under contract or left verizon when your contract was finished. If you got out of the contract via the fee changes the esn will be bad.
Assuming the Esn is clean once you have the paperwork that says its clean you just tell the buyer that you have evidence of a clean ESN and that you will fight any dispute. PayPal and EBay see these shady people alot and know what to look for.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA Premium App

Yeah man I wouldn't trust this.
Sent from my I500 using XDA Premium App

For sure contact Verizon if you can and verify your ESN is good. I have a feeling that this is indeed a scam.
Moderated from my HTC G2.

Think k40 has a point. On what terms did you leave verizon, or at least deactivate the phone?
XDA Prem app Running UKB w PBJ

MattRussNC said:
Think k40 has a point. On what terms did you leave verizon, or at least deactivate the phone?
XDA Prem app Running UKB w PBJ
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She used an upgrade. I should be able to get all the right info still. I sent the guy a few messages. I'm just waiting on a response before I call Verizon.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA App

ajd88 said:
She used an upgrade. I should be able to get all the right info still. I sent the guy a few messages. I'm just waiting on a response before I call Verizon.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA App
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The only way he is Intitled to a refund is if he pays shipping and returns it to you
Even if he files a complaint he will have to show proof that he sent it back
So I would not worry to much about it
If he does send one back make Damn sure it is yours and has your esn
eBay has policies in place to protect you and the never do anything out of eBay
And you may be wise to report it to them right away and let them know what is going on This Kind of Deal is a No No you were asked outside of eBay

Sounds like a scam to me. Good luck.

I was just talking to a buddy of mine that works at verizon and he told me they would only inform you if its on the lost or stolen list, they will not confiscate it sounds like a big scam
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA Premium App

Does smell like a scam close to the sme thing happend to me with a video card

Seen plenty of phones come in with bad esn's. Not once did we or were we authorized to take possesion of the device
Sent from my I500 using XDA Premium App

Also, everyone be careful even letting a potential customer check the esn. When I was trying to sell my blackberry many scammers tried to get at mine. Don't give it to them! They can do a fake activation put insurance on it and claim it lost/stolen.. at that point your esn goes bad and they receive a phone from insurion in the mail.. One scammer even tried to get me to take a photo of the back of the phone with the battery out (where the esn is written) under the pretense he was looking to see if it worked on gsm.. Duh its a world phone... Good luck man. From my experience selling on ebay is nothing but headache.
Sent from my frozen yogurt filled fascinate

Make sure you move your money out from paypal and un-link any connected bank accounts. The guy will just call his CC company and dispute the charge. Paypal will take your money and you'll be SOL no matter how much evidence your have. Paypal's "protection" is **** and they'll screw you over in a heartbeat.

Smeed said:
Make sure you move your money out from paypal and un-link any connected bank accounts. The guy will just call his CC company and dispute the charge. Paypal will take your money and you'll be SOL no matter how much evidence your have. Paypal's "protection" is **** and they'll screw you over in a heartbeat.
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+ 1
Sent from my frozen yogurt filled fascinate

That's a scam, no doubt about it. Don't let the feedback rating fool you, because it could be a legitimate account that got compromised. The only way they could win a dispute with eBay is if they can provide proof that the ESN was bad. If you know the ESN was good, then there's no way they could possibly provide that proof.
Sent from XDA Premium on my Super Clean Fascinate

neh4pres said:
They can do a fake activation put insurance on it and claim it lost/stolen.. at that point your esn goes bad and they receive a phone from insurion in the mail..
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Im not so sure about that, I just tryed to have them put insurance on a fascinate I bought used and they said you can only put it on if you bought it from them.

Definite scam. As stated before, they won't confiscate the device. It's not their right to.
Unlike with media, you actually own a phone, rather than license it (which is why software, music, and videos can actually be confiscated). For them to take the phone from the buyer would be theft.
Call Verizon, have them pull the ESN from the old phone for you and have them verify that it is good. You should also be able to have them verify if it's been activated or not.
The way the systems work these days, I'm surprised someone would actually try and pull a scam like this one. It's way too easy to verify that they're full of it.

[July 7] [?] Can I use a phone thats been claimed for insurance?

Someone on ebay has an HD2 for sale for a good price that he claimed insurance on. I was thinking of buying it. Does anyone know if it'll work if I buy it?
Thnx for help =D

cakinlife said:
Someone on ebay has an HD2 for sale for a good price that he claimed insurance on. I was thinking of buying it. Does anyone know if it'll work if I buy it?
Thnx for help =D
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my mystic ball tells me that he claimed insurance on it for a reason....

i would ask for the imei # & then call htc to see if it has any warranty still on it. if it does you could buy it & hope that what ever is wrong with it will be covered under the warranty but you might be buying a very expensive paper weight. I bought mine on ebay & made sure it was still under warranty before buying it & then shipped it out to htc for repair. they replaced my phone & shipped it back 2 me 4 free. i only had to pay for the shipping there.

His description says he only did it to get another phone and that its gauranteed working. But I'm wondering if T-Mobile would care about that and block your phone?

my only concern would be it having a bad esn which shouldnt be likely since he said he did the swap himself. normally that happens when you try 2 sell a stolen phone. i would call t-mobile with the esn# to see if its bad or not.
anytime you do an exchange through t-mobile you have 2 mail back the phone thats not working or you will get a huge restocking fee = to the phones price unless it was an upgrade which i think you then can keep your old phone.
I would check the completed auctions on ebay, its on the left hand side of the page. price what the htc hd2 has sold for & then if you can get it for cheaper then the average price i would go ahead & buy it. if you cant get it working on t-mobiles network then you can always resell it on ebay & since you did your homework on how much you can expect 2 sell it 4 you wont be out any/a lot of money. i wouldnt think that it would be an issue but i also wouldnt want to give you info on something im not 100% on, best bet would be to call.

I didn't know ESN's applied to phones that use sim cards.
So if the ESN is bad then it might not work and it would just be a paper weight?
Would applying a new OS such as android fix this at all and is the ESN changeable?
Thanks for the info guys, esp htccraze

As I was writing that I was wondering it myself. Lol. I looked online at a few places and your right, t-mobile is not affected by bad esn #'s. I was with verizon till just last year so thats where I was gathering my info from, so I'm really sorry about that.
It seems as though everything should be fine then. Like I said, if you can get a good deal on it & think you'd be able to resell it around the price you paid then there wouldnt be as much risk because you'll be able to get your money back if for whatever reason you no longer like/want the phone. I don't like 2 tell ppl what they should do with they're hard earned money but as a pt seller on eBay myself I feel that papal/ebay buyer protection would have you covered if something was listed wrong or if it dont live up to the description he put in his listing.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

cakinlife there are 2 options you can do. 1) As htccraze said yes you might want to call htc if it is still cover under warranty. 2) The HTC HD2 could be use under another network if the phone is unlcoked.

I would be suprised if there was no sting in the tail here
Insurance is not used just to get a new phone (most insurance phones are refurbs anyway) and the only reason it would be replaced without being sent in for repair/exchange would be if its reported lost/stolen, then the owner got it back (or it was not lost anyway)
Dodgy to say the least
If the IMEI is blacklisted, you need to provide proof of ownersip to unlock it (if you are not the original owner) in the UK that is
IMEI for the phone
IMSI for the SIM

Thanks everyone for the tips, I ended up losing the auction lol (price got too high) but now I know =D
Really appreciate all the help

Nexus 4 Warranty Transfer..

Hey guys, help a noob out? I bought a Nexus 4 from craigslist for $650 because my order is in limbo level 3 right now. The phone was brand new, nothing was opened as far as I can tell. So after using it for a few hours I noticed the yellowish tint so many of you mentioned on here and now the phone won't even turn on. I called Google and they said they cannot honor the warranty since I didn't originally purchase it from the Google Play store and I should take it back to the person who sold it to me? Seriously, take it back to the craigslist guy? To my understanding when you purchase a product the remaining manufacturer's warranty transfers over to the person who bought it? Google has been such an arse about this whole Nexus 4 thing, I'm seriously considering sticking with Apple, smh! Any suggestions?

Omeer said:
Hey guys, help a noob out? I bought a Nexus 4 from craigslist for $650 because my order is in limbo level 3 right now. The phone was brand new, nothing was opened as far as I can tell. So after using it for a few hours I noticed the yellowish tint so many of you mentioned on here and now the phone won't even turn on. I called Google and they said they cannot honor the warranty since I didn't originally purchase it from the Google Play store and I should take it back to the person who sold it to me? Seriously, take it back to the craigslist guy? To my understanding when you purchase a product the remaining manufacturer's warranty transfers over to the person who bought it? Google has been such an arse about this whole Nexus 4 thing, I'm seriously considering sticking with Apple, smh! Any suggestions?
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You spent $650 because you could not wait another week? Not sure what to tell you but if you posted here first I would have told you not to do it.
As for the warranty maybe you can talk top the seller. I doubt he will give you your money back back maybe he can transfer the warranty.
Good lesson in life either way though about having a little patience.. Sorry friend. I hope it works out for you..
sent via xda premium with nexus 7

I would call LG. Google may not do anything, but LG prolly will. Its thier warranty. Not Googlies.\
I don't get why you couldn't wait to own it. Its a cool phone. but really. Not worth 650.

Richieboy67 said:
You spent $650 because you could not wait another week? Not sure what to tell you but if you posted here first I would have told you not to do it.
As for the warranty maybe you can talk top the seller. I doubt he will give you your money back back maybe he can transfer the warranty.
Good lesson in life either way though about having a little patience.. Sorry friend. I hope it works out for you..
sent via xda premium with nexus 7
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I tried to be patient, it was an impulse buy. I figured I'd make the money back by selling this one when my back ordered nexus comes in.
I tried to get in touch with this guy but he's not responding. He probably knew about the issue or no longer cares now that he has his money. I have the receipt that proves he bought it from the play store. But the problem is how do I get someone I can't contact to transfer the warranty over? I'm seriously considering calling google under the false pretense that I'm this guy and I want to transfer my warranty :/

tweaked said:
I would call LG. Google may not do anything, but LG prolly will. Its thier warranty. Not Googlies.\
I don't get why you couldn't wait to own it. Its a cool phone. but really. Not worth 650.
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Yeah I called them and they agreed to replace /service it. While that's good news, there is no express replacement service so I'll have to send the phone in and wait for them to mail out another one. It's e waiting game that I can't play

Im sure you could have made this Post without stating the price you bought it for.....now everyone has a reason to make fun of you...

Omeer said:
Yeah I called them and they agreed to replace /service it. While that's good news, there is no express replacement service so I'll have to send the phone in and wait for them to mail out another one. It's e waiting game that I can't play
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Well thats a personal issue. You chose to buy from a (IMO) horrible place (Craigs list) and now you get what that comes with. Horrible service.
Me, I'd just be glad 650 is not out the window.

tvdang7 said:
Im sure you could have made this Post without stating the price you bought it for.....now everyone has a reason to make fun of you...
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LOL and here I thought I'd get more sympathy for a more emphatic loss

tweaked said:
Well thats a personal issue. You chose to buy from a (IMO) horrible place (Craigs list) and now you get what that comes with. Horrible service.
Me, I'd just be glad 650 is not out the window.
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Yeah I guess I'll just have to suck it up and wait. Limbo level 4 anyone?

Omeer said:
Yeah I guess I'll just have to suck it up and wait. Limbo level 4 anyone?
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You'll be better off then limbo level. I am sure they have a service center in the states, and I bet they attempt to connect to it, Won't be able, stick it in the parts bin and then send you off a referb.
You at least "know" what is happening. Some them limbo's are clueless on what is happening.

I find this amusing. First AFAIK Google does not transfer warranties. In fact if you lookup the terms and conditions, you must have and "Maintain" a Google wallet account to get Google warranty. That said, when they sold out in 20 minutes, I looked on Ebay and there was a listing where in big bold red letters stated Google has a no questions asked warranty. I thought it was a horrible misrepresentation. ANyway...Good luck.

Omeer said:
LOL and here I thought I'd get more sympathy for a more emphatic loss
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Why anyone buys anything that might need a warranty from craigslist is a mystery to me.

Beating this to death....
But you seriously paid $650 for a $350 phone because you couldn't wait a little longer? Some people make ridiculous financial decisions.

Omeer said:
I tried to be patient, it was an impulse buy. I figured I'd make the money back by selling this one when my back ordered nexus comes in.
I tried to get in touch with this guy but he's not responding. He probably knew about the issue or no longer cares now that he has his money. I have the receipt that proves he bought it from the play store. But the problem is how do I get someone I can't contact to transfer the warranty over? I'm seriously considering calling google under the false pretense that I'm this guy and I want to transfer my warranty :/
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You planned to make $650 back? Where are you located that they're going for $650? A 16GB in Chicago is hardly fetching $495 on CL.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

I just bought mine off of Fleabay for $449.99 including shipping. I figured it was worth the extra $63.09 to get it a month and a half sooner.

Replacement of Nexus 4
Omeer said:
Yeah I called them and they agreed to replace /service it. While that's good news, there is no express replacement service so I'll have to send the phone in and wait for them to mail out another one. It's e waiting game that I can't play
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Hi there, I found your post on xda-developers forum and as I have the same issue - bought expensive phone from Kijiji and now have a brick, I want to see how to go about it. Google said they will 'transfer warranty' but then days later they said it was an error. LG is saying to call Google and are quite rude about it. The phone was new from never opened box bought in February?
How did you do? Did you get a repaired or a new phone? And do you have any advice in dealing with LG?
Thanks,
Bianca (I am in Toronto, Canada)

Purchased a stolen GS5... Wth...

Not really a GS5 related post but just a general post.
Please check your IMEI # with MORE than one website before buying. I checked on www.checkesnfree.com and the results came up good. Then I tried activating and got a blacklisted notice. I checked another website and it indeed it blacklisted on almost all carriers.
So now I have a very expensive brick.

arozer said:
Not really a GS5 related post but just a general post.
Please check your IMEI # with MORE than one website before buying. I checked on www.checkesnfree.com and the results came up good. Then I tried activating and got a blacklisted notice. I checked another website and it indeed it blacklisted on almost all carriers.
So now I have a very expensive brick.
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Part it out on eBay. Only thing you prolly can't sell is the motherboard.
Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

arozer said:
Not really a GS5 related post but just a general post.
Please check your IMEI # with MORE than one website before buying. I checked on www.checkesnfree.com and the results came up good. Then I tried activating and got a blacklisted notice. I checked another website and it indeed it blacklisted on almost all carriers.
So now I have a very expensive brick.
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Click to collapse
Yeah sadly checkesnfree isnt very accurate anymore. I quit using it about 3 years ago because of the same reason. Hope you didnt pay too much for it, but as stated, parting it out or finding someone who can do a IMEI "repair" are likely your only options at this point.
I wish you luck, if i had extra cash on hand id make a offer but i dont even know what you paid for it and id hate to offend anyone with a "low ball" offer. Good luck sir!

swappa.com/esn

It is also possible the original owner just didn't pay their bill and ETF. I doubt you have interest in shelling out more $$$ to pay off someone else's ETF, but Sprint could tell you why it is blacklisted.

Sprint won't do anything to help this poor guy, unfortunately you definitely have a super expensive tiny tablet.
If you're interested in selling it for parts, send me a PM with a price and we can negotiate. Thanks!

I bought an s4 sprint is blocked by sprint... I unlocked it via SSU apk app. just I want to make sure if I can be able to use it in international in different countries Like country Iraq
Thanks
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using XDA Free mobile app

Personally, meeting the seller AT a Sprint Store and verifying the ability for the phone to be activated on another account is the only way I'll buy secondhand. If the seller refuses, then you just saved yourself a trip and a hole in your wallet.

i personally just do to it face to face in a public place like a shop. tell them to bring ID and sign a form stating ownership. you get free cctv back up of the exchange if you file a report with the police if anything ever happens.

elesbb said:
Part it out on eBay. Only thing you prolly can't sell is the motherboard.
Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
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I would not do this, @arozer. If ever caught, you could be charged with selling/trafficking stolen property. Which in many states is a Class 4 or worse Felony.

typefortytardis said:
I would not do this, @arozer. If ever caught, you could be charged with selling/trafficking stolen property. Which in many states is a Class 4 or worse Felony.
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Is this a joke? Lol. How would he get charged with doing anything illegal? As I stated, the only thing he probably can't sell is the motherboard. That's the part that holds the imei and esn which is the part that's blacklisted. And even still, as long as they are honest about the motherboard being blacklisted, there is no harm in that. There is no reason they cannot part out the device and at the very least make a little of their money back.
Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

Imei

Hi guys
So I bought a brand new nexus 6p on eBay 2 months ago. Stupidly I met the guy at his girlfreinds house (supposedly) and paid cash for it.
Today my phone stopped getting signal so I spoke to three (uk) and they advised me the phone had been blacklisted.
I can't get in contact with the guy I bought it off and can't remember where his girlfriend lives, I'm guessing he's reported it as stolen as to do an Insirance claim or something g.
Question is..... Is there anything I can do to get the phone I paid for to work again? I've heard about changing the imei number but I'm guessing that's illegal. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

jabawarkie said:
Hi guys
So I bought a brand new nexus 6p on eBay 2 months ago. Stupidly I met the guy at his girlfreinds house (supposedly) and paid cash for it.
Today my phone stopped getting signal so I spoke to three (uk) and they advised me the phone had been blacklisted.
I can't get in contact with the guy I bought it off and can't remember where his girlfriend lives, I'm guessing he's reported it as stolen as to do an Insirance claim or something g.
Question is..... Is there anything I can do to get the phone I paid for to work again? I've heard about changing the imei number but I'm guessing that's illegal. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
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Sounds like it may just be stolen. I would hand it over to the authorities and ask them to sort it out. You don't need to be involved any further than you are. I'm guessing the price was really good. Usually when it seems to good to be true, it is. See if you can get eBay to help you out as well. They should have some sort of policy.

XxMORPHEOUSxX said:
Sounds like it may just be stolen. I would hand it over to the authorities and ask them to sort it out. You don't need to be involved any further than you are. I'm guessing the price was really good. Usually when it seems to good to be true, it is. See if you can get eBay to help you out as well. They should have some sort of policy.
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Think you may be right.... I paid £300 for it so yeh it was really cheap to say it was brand new. He did look abit of a dodgey character though so its my own fault. I think I'll pass it in to the police. I do have his eBay username though and his full name so I'll give that to the police as well.
Shame I'll be the one out of pocket at the end of the day.

jabawarkie said:
Think you may be right.... I paid £300 for it so yeh it was really cheap to say it was brand new. He did look abit of a dodgey character though so its my own fault. I think I'll pass it in to the police. I do have his eBay username though and his full name so I'll give that to the police as well.
Shame I'll be the one out of pocket at the end of the day.
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It is a huge shame, but you don't really have a choice. Changing the IMEI is indeed illegal. Plus, if you were to knowingly try to get this phone to work after finding out that it's most likely style, you'd be up for criminal charges yourself.