Database Users

so i may buy a G2 from Craigslist

and i am wondering a few things..
i have heard of some shady craigslist people selling IMEI banned phones. If i get one by chance..is it possible to change IMEI? or am i screwed with a paperweight. I have seen some RIFF-box tools claim to be able to do it, but this is a pretty new phone so I am not sure if its supported.
Will T-Mobile work with a customer that accidentally came up on a banned phone? Does t-mobile actually ENFORCE the ban on the IMEI? I know of some people that had a supposed banned IMEI and it worked just fine.
Any information will be greatly appreciated!

Rather than potentially go through all of that, try calling T-Mobile when you meet the seller and verify with them if the phone is able to used without issue and hasn't been banned.
Also, talk of hacking and changing ESN/IMEIs are not allowed in the forums.
ricky05 said:
and i am wondering a few things..
i have heard of some shady craigslist people selling IMEI banned phones. If i get one by chance..is it possible to change IMEI? or am i screwed with a paperweight. I have seen some RIFF-box tools claim to be able to do it, but this is a pretty new phone so I am not sure if its supported.
Will T-Mobile work with a customer that accidentally came up on a banned phone? Does t-mobile actually ENFORCE the ban on the IMEI? I know of some people that had a supposed banned IMEI and it worked just fine.
Any information will be greatly appreciated!
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Click to collapse

bring your sim card with you and slap it in before you hand over the cash. When I sold my Droid on Craigs List I actually met the guy at the verizon store to make sure he didn't have an issue getting it activated. Its not much to ask..

i completely understand about imei changing not allowed..
i was mostly asking if it was POSSIBLE..not how to do it really..but ok
and thanks for the reply about meeting the guy there..thats probably what I will do.

I've worked for tmobile for a long time, they do not block imei's.......that is sprint and verizon which block esn's. Your safe to buy the phone.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk

You'll be fine with any GSM Carrier... Imei doesn't mean anything.
Just be sure your getting a Legitimate phone.

SmartHat said:
You'll be fine with any GSM Carrier... Imei doesn't mean anything.
Just be sure your getting a Legitimate phone.
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Click to collapse
Unless it is on their blacklist an a stolen phone.

I bought a Motorola Cliq from CraigsList about a year ago... Turns out the guy I bought it from was a T-Mobile employee who had stolen the phone. I got a phone call from someone at T-Mobile asking me about the phone. I gave them all the information I had on the guy and then asked what it all meant to me.
I was told that because I had purchased the phone legitimately and had done nothing wrong that I could keep the phone and that T-Mobile had no interest in punishing a customer for someone else being dishonest.
As someone else said, pop your SIM card in the phone when you meet and see if it works.

Make sure you check that speaker phone works. I bought mine from a guy on craigslist for 275 and the speaker didn't work. I could hear out of the phone speaker (the one in front) but not out of the one in the back (above and to the right if the HTC logo behind the phone). So just check that the phone rings, that you can hear speakerphone, and that you can hear music.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

ricky05 said:
i completely understand about imei changing not allowed..
i was mostly asking if it was POSSIBLE..not how to do it really..but ok
and thanks for the reply about meeting the guy there..thats probably what I will do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If u change the imei then u will have one of someone else phone.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Can't the guy just report it stolen after you put your sim in to see if it works? This is the main thing stopping me from getting a G2 or Nexus on Craigslist. Will everything be perfect if it works when you put in your sim?

I would ask the seller to email the IMEI to me, and verify it with TMo. If all is good, double check it when you meet with the dude and you should be OK.

djsinco said:
I would ask the seller to email the IMEI to me, and verify it with TMo. If all is good, double check it when you meet with the dude and you should be OK.
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Thanks for the response!
but even after checking the imei with tmobile, couldn't he just write down the imei number and report it stolen after I check it with the sim and buy it?

The concern to me is that the seller stole it. you could have TMo document the IMEI search in your notes, that and a printout of the CL post would cover you.

Youll be ok. I've never hear TMo blacklist any phones...even ones that were reported lost/stolen.
You bought it...just keep records of all your interactions with the seller.
Posted from my HTC Vision via XDA App

I have purchased and sold numerous phones over Craigslist.
I would recommend that you meet in an area that is well-lit and very PUBLIC. I typically try to meet at a coffee shop or something. I have heard of horror stories in my area about people setting up robberies through CL so be careful and aware of your surroundings.
Spend a few minutes using the phone... I.E. make a test phone call, send a text message, test sound output, etc. If the seller is not okay waiting a few minutes while you do these things, hand them the phone back and find a different seller. If there is nothing to hide, this process is reasonable.

Thanks for all the responses guys but my main concern is with the imei number. What is a sure way to know that it will not be blocked later on by a person?

Bbe1367 said:
I've worked for tmobile for a long time, they do not block imei's.......that is sprint and verizon which block esn's. Your safe to buy the phone.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is nothing you can do to prevent a seller from calling customer service and giving them the IMEI saying that its stolen, BUT that doesn't have any impact on you.
ESN's are used on CDMA phones and those can be blocked to prevent service reaching a device. IMEI's do not work the same way. Regardless of whether or not the phone is reported as stolen, it would continue to work.
Just keep a record of your communication with the seller in case he tries to scam you down the road saying you stole it from him, but that is highly unlikely. Just be sure to check the device and make sure everything is working.

I take a gun with me when I go pay/pick up my item.

johnnyham89 said:
Thanks for all the responses guys but my main concern is with the imei number. What is a sure way to know that it will not be blocked later on by a person?
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Click to collapse
T-mobile DOES NOT block IMEI numbers AT ALL,
Sprint and Verizon use CDMA networks, hence you have to give them your ESN number.... which they CAN block.
Since you are with T-Mobile... this scenario DOES NOT, I repeat DOES NOT apply to you.
just be careful about the phone itself, Making sure EVERYTHING works fine, scratches, dings.
Like somenone said... if there is nothing to hide than he WILL wait for you to test out the phone until you are satisfied. Meeting in a coffee shop or a public spot will do you good!

[Q] Question about general insurance terms.

Two quick questions about the insurance terms an conditions.
1. If you report it stolen or lost or whatever, do they send you a brand new phone after you pay the deductible or is it a refurbbed one?
2. If report it lost and order a new one, and you find the lost one(or you never actually lost it) do they deactivate the original one somehow?..or track it somehow?....or do they just accept your deductible and let you do whatever you want with them?

They send you what they have in stock at the moment. The longer a phone has been out the more likely you are to get a refurbished one.
The insurance company can't track it or do anything with it, you can do what you want with it and T-mobile won't care.
I advise reporting it lost, if you say it's stolen you have to submit to them a police report.
Good luck, let us know your results.

T-Fanatic said:
They send you what they have in stock at the moment. The longer a phone has been out the more likely you are to get a refurbished one.
The insurance company can't track it or do anything with it, you can do what you want with it and T-mobile won't care.
I advise reporting it lost, if you say it's stolen you have to submit to them a police report.
Good luck, let us know your results.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. Helpful information. Have you personally reported lost phone before?

T-Fanatic said:
They send you what they have in stock at the moment. The longer a phone has been out the more likely you are to get a refurbished one.
The insurance company can't track it or do anything with it, you can do what you want with it and T-mobile won't care.
I advise reporting it lost, if you say it's stolen you have to submit to them a police report.
Good luck, let us know your results.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure but I'd be surprised if T-Mobile didn't blacklist lost /stolen phones.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

Jaskwith said:
Thank you. Helpful information. Have you personally reported lost phone before?
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I have not personally, but I worked at T-mobile up until a couple of weeks ago.
Your insurance isn't through t-mobile, so they don't care if you now have another one all of the sudden. Your insurance will only allow two phone replacements in a year because they can't actually blacklist or stop the phones.

T-Fanatic said:
I have not personally, but I worked at T-mobile up until a couple of weeks ago.
Your insurance isn't through t-mobile, so they don't care if you now have another one all of the sudden. Your insurance will only allow two phone replacements in a year because they can't actually blacklist or stop the phones.
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Click to collapse
Wrong! The phones can be blacklisted. Honestly if you do find its best to report it BC if you start using that old one or sell it then asurion can and will prosecute for insurance fraud.

sk337sk337 said:
Wrong! The phones can be blacklisted. Honestly if you do find its best to report it BC if you start using that old one or sell it then asurion can and will prosecute for insurance fraud.
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I just have a question, cause I'd like people to be clear about what they're saying.
How would Ausrion even know if you sold it?
I mean, I could understand you finding the phone and using it again..cause maybe that could be tracked. (Maybe.)
But what could be done about selling it? That makes no sense.
Unless you try to sell it by posting "Selling my supposedly lost phone" on the TMobile forums.

nguyendqh said:
I just have a question, cause I'd like people to be clear about what they're saying.
How would Ausrion even know if you sold it?
I mean, I could understand you finding the phone and using it again..cause maybe that could be tracked. (Maybe.)
But what could be done about selling it? That makes no sense.
Unless you try to sell it by posting "Selling my supposedly lost phone" on the TMobile forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure what they actually do, but in theory it's pretty easy.
You claim the phone is lost
TMobile blacklists the phone's IMEI
Someone tries to register the phone on the TMobile network
TMobile and/or Asurion go after the account holder for the associated SIM
They show they bought it from you
No profit

chrisjs81 said:
I am not sure what they actually do, but in theory it's pretty easy.
You claim the phone is lost
TMobile blacklists the phone's IMEI
Someone tries to register the phone on the TMobile network
TMobile and/or Asurion go after the account holder for the associated SIM
They show they bought it from you
No profit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone can be unlocked to use on any provider.
So...wouldn't selling it as an unlocked phone give you a better chance?
And you could sell it to a friend and have them say they bought it from off the internet or at a pawn shop or anything.
I just don't think it's that precise. (Who knows maybe it is.)
Anyway. I'm not trying to prove there's ways around it. I just wanted to understand the statement better.
And is blacklisting a phone's IMEI a new thing? Cause I've had phones stolen in the past that ended being in use by other people. Nothing ever happened there. (And I know that because I found out who stole the phone.)
*Just curious by the way, not trying to start a heated conversation or anything.
Thank for the info!

The insurance companies are NOT as dumb as you think they are. Insurance fraud is a booming business and companies are always looking to minimize their losses against fraud.
I know this because one of my specialty fields includes loss prevention and fraud. They can and will blacklist your IMEI number and despite your noble efforts to sell to a friend who magically ends up buying that very same phone off craigslist [unbeknownst to you ] will get you in trouble.
Do the smart thing and heed the advice given here by people who know. Don't try to fool businesses or people who have been around the block way longer than your ingenious plan of trying to net an extra phone.
You're better off slipping in the Taco Bell parking lot and claiming an injury.

CBConsultation said:
The insurance companies are NOT as dumb as you think they are. Insurance fraud is a booming business and companies are always looking to minimize their losses against fraud.
I know this because one of my specialty fields includes loss prevention and fraud. They can and will blacklist your IMEI number and despite your noble efforts to sell to a friend who magically ends up buying that very same phone off craigslist [unbeknownst to you ] will get you in trouble.
Do the smart thing and heed the advice given here by people who know. Don't try to fool businesses or people who have been around the block way longer than your ingenious plan of trying to net an extra phone.
You're better off slipping in the Taco Bell parking lot and claiming an injury.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Think I could get some more detail about slipping in the parking lot of Taco Bell?

Asurion watches your account and tracks people down if they see someone you talk/text has the imei of your "lost" phone. Trust me don't lie to insurance companies

But if you sell it on Cl and report it lost at a bar...? What can they prove?
sk337sk337 said:
Asurion watches your account and tracks people down if they see someone you talk/text has the imei of your "lost" phone. Trust me don't lie to insurance companies
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Click to collapse
Sent from my MT4G running Gingerbread

So they actually blacklist imei numbers?
Sent from my MT4G running Gingerbread

Jaskwith said:
So they actually blacklist imei numbers?
Sent from my MT4G running Gingerbread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes they do.
Sent over HSPA+ using XDA app.

Jaskwith said:
So they actually blacklist imei numbers?
Sent from my MT4G running Gingerbread
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Click to collapse
I also noticed your sig says your MT4G is running Gingerbread. Wanna explain?
Sent over HSPA+ using XDA app.

Well its cm7... basically gingerbread.
CBConsultation said:
I also noticed your sig says your MT4G is running Gingerbread. Wanna explain?
Sent over HSPA+ using XDA app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my MT4G running Gingerbread

Better not do that. Just don't lie to insurance companies

I'm not advocating fraud, but last time I checked the two big US GSM providers (AT&T and T-Mobile) don't utilize an IMEI blacklist. I checked because I had a phone stolen from me and I asked T-Mobile to blacklist the IMEI and they told me that they can't (or won't) do that. They said the best they could do was deactivate the SIM card to prevent the thief from running up my bill. After doing some digging, I discovered reports of many AT&T customers with the same experience.

moto211 said:
I'm not advocating fraud, but last time I checked the two big US GSM providers (AT&T and T-Mobile) don't utilize an IMEI blacklist. I checked because I had a phone stolen from me and I asked T-Mobile to blacklist the IMEI and they told me that they can't (or won't) do that. They said the best they could do was deactivate the SIM card to prevent the thief from running up my bill. After doing some digging, I discovered reports of many AT&T customers with the same experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is absolutely true. USA gsm carriers have 0 interest in blacklisting for obvious reasons = more money in their pocket. You get to buy a new phone for more money and whoever steals/find the phone gets to pay the company even more money.
I have no idea what insurance companies will do, though, but I've reported a lost phone, which I'm sure someone is still using, got a replacement and never heard word of it being tracked down or something.
Best advice I have is call assurion and ask if, in case your phone gets lost, if they'll do anything to retrieve it. My guess would be a resounding NO unless you have a police report, a subpoena and a lot of time to waste on this.

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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+ 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..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

Gumtree Scam..

Hi Guys Need you advice.
I bought new samsung galaxy s3 from Gumtree guy sold it for £350. It was advertised that its unlocked on all networks. When I bought it of him it was working on Vodaphone. I rang orange to get microsim which arrived 3 days ago. I waited for text message for new sim but no message arrived after 24 hours so i rang orange asked why sim isnt active. Orange asked me for phone IMEI number which i provided found out that phone is blacklisted.
when i bought the phone guy said that he has reciept upon receiving the phone he said its at home but will give it tomorrow. So i took his pictures on Galaxy S2, made him sign the agreement and recorded him. I also took picture of gumtree ad and have his IMEI number. I rang the guy yesterday after orange telling me its blacklisted to say why did you sell me lost/stolen phone he said he will speak to vodaphone and see they can unblock it (strange). He rang after couple of minutes later said phone wont work on orange network only on vodaphone and offered me refund straightaway. At this point all i wanted was money back and then report him.
I got the refund now but asked him why he tried selling contract lost phone to me. He said he had previous phone stolen so they sent him new phone which he sold to me at point of sale he did not say he has on contract. I think he tried to scam me but i had all the proof to proof he sold me lost phone which he tried to do insurance scam.
I rang Vodafone to tell them what happened girl said all they can do is blacklist the phone (call center i rang was in Egypt) noting she can do. So i rang sales team who put me through to Customer services in uk i told them the same story but he said call in the morning system is playing up.
I have now bought sim free from carphonewarehouse today for £495
What do u guys suggest about this should i report him again and leave him to scam others (which i do not want) i dont want to go through hassell if its too much.
What would you guys do in this situation,.
Sorry about grammar and English

First of all I would report him to Gumtree to stop him from scamming anyone else on there.
Sent from my SGS3 on Omega v9.0 using XDA Premium

Secondly if you can find the network that blocked the phone it might be worth asking them your options if any to remove block.
Seller has commited fraud unless you where informed phone was blocked.
jje
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

He said he had previous phone stolen so they sent him new phone which he sold to me at point of sale he did not say he has on contract.
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Click to collapse
Thats bollocks.
The device IMEI is unique across all devices, including replacements for stolen devices. So if it is blacklisted, that (usually) means it got stolen and has been blocked due to a police-report by the victim.

Punch line: avoid gumtree. I had a similar situation in the past.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

fbloise said:
Punch line: avoid gumtree. I had a similar situation in the past.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
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Could you post details of where you met up or what he looks like? I just had my S3 stolen yesterday and I think I may have a rough idea of several people it could have been who pick pocketed me. It's gutting, but I just want to get to the bottom of it now.
I'm going to have the IMEI blacklisted tomorrow, but ideally I wish I could just get the phone back. I'd even have been happy to buy it back off him but whoever took it has turned it off and I'm stuffed.
Any help would be much appreciated.

The guy offered you a refund and apologies to you. Then he gave you the money and sort the problem! I think its an honest mistake which could happen to anyone (but the phone working on Vodafone does not seems to be blacklisted, otherwise it would not work on vodafone as well.) Just avoid buying these kind of things of gumtree in the future, or ask for a prof of purchase

cyrexking said:
The guy offered you a refund and apologies to you. Then he gave you the money and sort the problem! I think its an honest mistake which could happen to anyone (but the phone working on Vodafone does not seems to be blacklisted, otherwise it would not work on vodafone as well.) Just avoid buying these kind of things of gumtree in the future, or ask for a prof of purchase
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Totally agree, guy would not refund money if it was stolen..
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

Totally agree, guy would not refund money if it was stolen.
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Click to collapse
Let's theorize that it was stolen. Two scenarios are possible:
a) he didn't know it was stolen and bought it from someone else too
b) he knew it was stolen but didn't want OP to go to the police so he just refunded the money. OP stated he had his voice and picture on record, so he might have panicked when he was confronted with the fact that the buyer knew it was stolen.

Yeah I have my doubts too of Gumtree... However I did buy this new One X there for a little cheaper than the shops, but it was a sealed one... I don't buy opened phones...
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

Even if it was a scam, the intended victim wasn't you, or he wouldn't have refunded the money.
The victim in the this case is probably Vodafone or a third-party insurance company, and if they don't care enough to do anything about it... well then they have no one to blame but themselves.
He wouldn't have let you see his face if he was going to scam you: even someone who doesn't understand what blacklisting is, would just assume the phone was defective and attempt to get a refund anyway.

When I buy a phone off Gumtree, I test everything before I hand over any money. I always do a IMEI check as well to make sure it is not blacklisted and I find out who's name the phone is registered in. These are the steps everyone should make when buying a pre owned phone.
Sent from my SGS3 on Omega v9.0 using XDA Premium

I agree with others, if he wasintending to scam you, you would never got a refund that's how scammers work. I believe it was either an honest mistake or an insurance scam, not an intention to scam you.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

He clearly tried to scam me but I took his picture, got him recorded, voice recording of him talking to me about the phone. He only refunded me because I had evidence that he sold me the phone.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

I'm surprised by how many S3's are for sale on Gumtree, many state that they are sealed in the box ?
is there another scam or something that they maybe selling stolen from shops warehouses etc that would allow this ?
ie they may work for a while but then are blacklisted and become useless ?

Peeely said:
I'm surprised by how many S3's are for sale on Gumtree, many state that they are sealed in the box ?
is there another scam or something that they maybe selling stolen from shops warehouses etc that would allow this ?
ie they may work for a while but then are blacklisted and become useless ?
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First post in a dead thread ?????WHY ???
jje

Gumtree is fine but you need to do the deal "in prerson" so you can test devices out first etc.

JJEgan said:
First post in a dead thread ?????WHY ???
jje
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Sorry ...........................is there a law against that ? :crying:
I just found the topic when doing a search on Galaxy S3 ads on Gumtree as I am in the process of trying to purchase one and they seem to be a lot cheaper on there than say Ebay, and thought that you guys might have the answers to why ?

JJEgan said:
First post in a dead thread ?????WHY ???
jje
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There's nothing wrong with that.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

Peeely said:
Sorry ...........................is there a law against that ? :crying:
I just found the topic when doing a search on Galaxy S3 ads on Gumtree as I am in the process of trying to purchase one and they seem to be a lot cheaper on there than say Ebay, and thought that you guys might have the answers to why ?
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I would agree with the other person, do the deal in person Then you can test the phone before you buy it.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

My phone is marked as stolen? Wtf?

So I got a new phone right from bell a month ago via their insurance thing when I broke mine. Worked great for a month. This morning it said something about incorrect sim and to contact bell.
Call them and they tell me it's stolen.
I take my receipt and the warranty thing in but the serials don't match and they want to keep the phone. I grab it and leave. I've taken my stuff off it. And been on the phone it bell for like an hour.
Has anyone heard of this before? Do I have any options besides smash this with a hammer and buy a nexus 5?is it possible to get a resolution from bell customer support?
Since when have they been able to disable a phone remotely like that. I don't like that they can do that.

Jeffrey000 said:
So I got a new phone right from bell a month ago via their insurance thing when I broke mine. Worked great for a month. This morning it said something about incorrect sim and to contact bell.
Call them and they tell me it's stolen.
I take my receipt and the warranty thing in but the serials don't match and they want to keep the phone. I grab it and leave. I've taken my stuff off it. And been on the phone it bell for like an hour.
Has anyone heard of this before? Do I have any options besides smash this with a hammer and buy a nexus 5?is it possible to get a resolution from bell customer support?
Since when have they been able to disable a phone remotely like that. I don't like that they can do that.
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This is something you need to contact either the insurance company where you got your replacement phone or your carrier. They've been able to block ESN's for a while now....I know that they were doing it on Verizon, and I think AT&T does it now too...its probably just a matter of time before all do it. Helps prevent people from stealing phones if they know it can be disabled remotely by the carrier.

Heard there was a way to block ESN. but no way to unblock it. ...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

erstad said:
Heard there was a way to block ESN. but no way to unblock it. ...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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This is basically what I'm being told.
Being given a run around. Basically they may or may not have made a mistake and I'm out of luck. All my different paperwork has three different serial numbers and none of them match the phone.
So how the f does that happen?
I wish *****ing to bell got any kind of results, I feel bad for the poor workers I am highly frustrated at even though they have no power.
I don't know what to do. The one lady said to sell it to Europe. Or make it a toy for my kid.
I dunno what to do.

Jeffrey000 said:
This is basically what I'm being told.
Being given a run around. Basically they may or may not have made a mistake and I'm out of luck. All my different paperwork has three different serial numbers and none of them match the phone.
So how the f does that happen?
I wish *****ing to bell got any kind of results, I feel bad for the poor workers I am highly frustrated at even though they have no power.
I don't know what to do. The one lady said to sell it to Europe. Or make it a toy for my kid.
I dunno what to do.
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How did you pay for it? Maybe you can dispute it if you used a credit card...other than that you are out of luck I guess