I bought a Stolen iPhone Unknowingly how do I give it back to who it was stolen from?

Eyeless916 · Jul 24, 2013

So i bought a phone on ebay - the imei they gave me was not the imei on the phone that i got and it turned out to be stolen back in april. Ebay is trying to get my money back but they told me i had to "destroy or turn in the phone to either a provider or the police" but I am in California and the phone is from Connecticut and who knows where it was stolen from. Is there a way I can return it to the person?

Or does anyone know if i take it back to AT&T will they return it to the rightful owner?

I feel horrible b/c my phone was stolen at Disneyland and i know how it feels so i just want to get it back to the rightful owner - screw the scum bag that sold this to me on ebay.

Thank you.

TheProFTW · Jul 24, 2013

Eyeless916 said:
So i bought a phone on ebay - the imei they gave me was not the imei on the phone that i got and it turned out to be stolen back in april. Ebay is trying to get my money back but they told me i had to "destroy or turn in the phone to either a provider or the police" but I am in California and the phone is from Connecticut and who knows where it was stolen from. Is there a way I can return it to the person?

Or does anyone know if i take it back to AT&T will they return it to the rightful owner?

I feel horrible b/c my phone was stolen at Disneyland and i know how it feels so i just want to get it back to the rightful owner - screw the scum bag that sold this to me on ebay.

Thank you.

You could call AT&T with the IMEI and ask them if you can contact the owner

If you do, just ship it to them

Eyeless916 · Jul 24, 2013

i just went into one and they said they don't give out that information and they don't confiscate phones.

They told me to try apple and or the local police.

When i called our local police department they said i can put it on the lost and found but they don't look for the people at least here in Sacramento. They told me to use the find my iphone app - which doesn't find an owner hahaha.

TheProFTW · Jul 24, 2013

Eyeless916 said:
i just went into one and they said they don't give out that information and they don't confiscate phones.

They told me to try apple and or the local police.

When i called our local police department they said i can put it on the lost and found but they don't look for the people at least here in Sacramento. They told me to use the find my iphone app - which doesn't find an owner hahaha.

I would've asked customer support, not the store itself.

C DM · Jul 24, 2013

Eyeless916 said:
i just went into one and they said they don't give out that information and they don't confiscate phones.

They told me to try apple and or the local police.

When i called our local police department they said i can put it on the lost and found but they don't look for the people at least here in Sacramento. They told me to use the find my iphone app - which doesn't find an owner hahaha.

Try Apple, there have been people who have contacted Apple with phones that belong to others and Apple provided assistance in returning those phones to the correct owners.

Eyeless916 · Jul 24, 2013

Thank you i will try that

johnparjr · Jul 24, 2013

Apple cannot do anything either

GoCubsGo · Jul 24, 2013

Stores shouldn't give out customer info at all; however, you could see if they'll contact the customer. If not, I'd post an ad on Craigslist in CT and see if you get any hits.

boshii · Jul 24, 2013

GoCubsGo said:
If not, I'd post an ad on Craigslist in CT and see if you get any hits.

That doesn't sound like a good idea.

C DM · Jul 24, 2013

johnparjr said:
Apple cannot do anything either

Or perhaps they could: https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/17626822/

deyan86 · Jul 31, 2013

You can report it here (stolenregister) and hope the owner will look for it.

Lucille Carter · Aug 1, 2013

Eyeless916 said:
i just went into one and they said they don't give out that information and they don't confiscate phones.

They told me to try apple and or the local police.

When i called our local police department they said i can put it on the lost and found but they don't look for the people at least here in Sacramento. They told me to use the find my iphone app - which doesn't find an owner hahaha.

Do not turn it into the police. They will just steal it. At least give it to Apple. eBay will refund your money.

old-wiz · Aug 1, 2013

Lucille Carter said:
Do not turn it into the police. They will just steal it. At least give it to Apple. eBay will refund your money.

The police won't steal it. Since it is stolen and the IMEI is blocked, it will be useless as a phone. Apple won't take it either.

CEmajr · Aug 1, 2013

Honestly you probably won't be able to find out who the original owner is or get it back to them since this happened way back in April. Then it's not worth the police's or the carrier's time to go through the work of finding out who it is. I would have just opened a case against the seller on eBay and gotten my money back for item not as described.

SR45 · Aug 1, 2013

Lucille Carter said:
Do not turn it into the police. They will just steal it. At least give it to Apple. eBay will refund your money.

Get real would you. They will not steal it. Police will make a report in your presence and a file number will be given. Anyone stealing it, including the police can be charged with receiving stolen property, which is a felony.

C DM · Aug 1, 2013

old-wiz said:
The police won't steal it. Since it is stolen and the IMEI is blocked, it will be useless as a phone. Apple won't take it either.

and yet Apple took it and took care of it for another poster.

617aircav · Aug 1, 2013

Only the carrier can get the owner, assuming it was reported stolen, and the owner still has an account with them. They will never give you that info. How do you know the date it was stolen?

Lucille Carter · Aug 1, 2013

old-wiz said:
The police won't steal it. Since it is stolen and the IMEI is blocked, it will be useless as a phone. Apple won't take it either.

SR45 said:
Get real would you. They will not steal it. Police will make a report in your presence and a file number will be given. Anyone stealing it, including the police can be charged with receiving stolen property, which is a felony.

LOL! I know police and they DO steal items, they do it all the time. This is the real world.

Police are human, humans steal.

I guess you think the NSA, FBI and IRS are all honorable employees. They are just union workers provide public services, badly.

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CEmajr said:
Honestly you probably won't be able to find out who the original owner is or get it back to them since this happened way back in April. Then it's not worth the police's or the carrier's time to go through the work of finding out who it is. I would have just opened a case against the seller on eBay and gotten my money back for item not as described.

This^

Dopeyman · Aug 1, 2013

SR45 said:
Get real would you. They will not steal it. Police will make a report in your presence and a file number will be given. Anyone stealing it, including the police can be charged with receiving stolen property, which is a felony.

LMFAO!!!! Wow!! This comment made my day..

I hate to inform you, but this is the real world.. Cops are the most corrupted organization on this planet!! Actually, they're neck and neck with our government...

Lucille Carter · Aug 1, 2013

Dopeyman said:
LMFAO!!!! Wow!! This comment made my day..

I hate to inform you, but this is the real world.. Cops are the most corrupted organization on this planet!! Actually, they're neck and neck with our government...

Here Here!

SR45 · Aug 1, 2013

Lucille Carter said:
LOL! I know police and they DO steal items, they do it all the time. This is the real world.

Police are human, humans steal.

I guess you think the NSA, FBI and IRS are all honorable employees. They are just union workers provide public services, badly.

----------

This^

Dopeyman said:
LMFAO!!!! Wow!! This comment made my day..

I hate to inform you, but this is the real world.. Cops are the most corrupted organization on this planet!! Actually, they're neck and neck with our government...

Lucille Carter said:
Here Here!

Walk into the police station. Tell them of the iPhone you have being stolen. Ask for a report to be filed or if not a supervisor. Ask for the report number. Now the report is on file with a proper legal number. I should know. I'm a retired police and how it's done at the department I worked at. And no, they are not the most corrupted organization on the planet. Stay off the drugs will ya

moonman239 · Aug 1, 2013

Turn the phone and its case in to your local police department, then post an ad on Craigslist that says you bought a stolen phone, and the rightful owner can claim it by contacting your local police department and giving the call taker a detailed description of the phone and case. Be sure to include your PD's phone number.

MEJHarrison · Aug 1, 2013

I'd contact AT&T except I would give them MY contact info and ask them to pass it along to the rightful owner so they can contact you. Then AT&T doesn't need to give away any customer's information. But as mentioned earlier, I'd call them. I wouldn't expect a store employee to be able to handle something of this nature.

Don't know if it would work or not, but it's certainly better than Craigslist.

old-wiz · Aug 1, 2013

Lucille Carter said:
LOL! I know police and they DO steal items, they do it all the time. This is the real world.

Police are human, humans steal.

I guess you think the NSA, FBI and IRS are all honorable employees. They are just union workers provide public services, badly.

----------

This^

There are some honorable employees at the NSA, FBI, etc but I don't think the NSA or FBI people are union workers. I wouldn't trust anyone from NSA or the FBI though.

Some cops do steal, but that doesn't mean they all do.

If the phone is stolen and has been reported the IMEI won't work in the U.S.

Lucille Carter · Aug 2, 2013

old-wiz said:
There are some honorable employees at the NSA, FBI, etc but I don't think the NSA or FBI people are union workers. I wouldn't trust anyone from NSA or the FBI though.

Some cops do steal, but that doesn't mean they all do.

If the phone is stolen and has been reported the IMEI won't work in the U.S.

They are all in a union. I do agree they are not all dishonest! Looks like they will ALL be exempt from the new Healthcare system!

Our government has elevated themselves above us now. We work for them!

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old-wiz said:
The police won't steal it. Since it is stolen and the IMEI is blocked, it will be useless as a phone. Apple won't take it either.

I beg to differ. Even a blocked phone is worth good money for the parts.

I bought a Stolen iPhone Unknowingly how do I give it back to who it was stolen from?

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