The AT&T Next Plan affects all people who purchase 2nd hand AT&T iPhones.
Like the T-Mobile Jump Program, once the owner of the phone stops payment, YOUR PHONE WILL GET BLACKLISTED. Once blacklisted the iPhone essentially becomes a very expensive iPod Touch.
Here is what scam artists are doing:
What scam artists are doing is opening up as many lines as they can, and then they STOP MAKING MONTHLY PAYMENTS. All you have to pay in order to get an iPhone on the Next Plan is the first month payment and the activation fee I believe. So essentially, people can have iPhones in possession for roughly $50 dollars OTD. Before AT&T blacklists the iPhones because of non-payments, they are sold on eBay or Craigslist. Easy money for a scam artist who doesn't care about his credit and is just looking for some quick cash.
To make matters worse, people can purchase the Asurion insurance, claim their phones "lost," and repeat this process several more times for EVERY phone on their plan. These phones become blacklisted, financed iPhones, that are reported lost, and are now banned from using on any carrier.
If you must buy an AT&T iPhone from eBay, Craigslist, or any other market place, remember to check with AT&T that the phone is PAID OFF IN FULL. It doesn't matter if a phone is still sealed in the box, it can still be a financed phone using the AT&T Next Plan.
Like the T-Mobile Jump Program, once the owner of the phone stops payment, YOUR PHONE WILL GET BLACKLISTED. Once blacklisted the iPhone essentially becomes a very expensive iPod Touch.
Here is what scam artists are doing:
What scam artists are doing is opening up as many lines as they can, and then they STOP MAKING MONTHLY PAYMENTS. All you have to pay in order to get an iPhone on the Next Plan is the first month payment and the activation fee I believe. So essentially, people can have iPhones in possession for roughly $50 dollars OTD. Before AT&T blacklists the iPhones because of non-payments, they are sold on eBay or Craigslist. Easy money for a scam artist who doesn't care about his credit and is just looking for some quick cash.
To make matters worse, people can purchase the Asurion insurance, claim their phones "lost," and repeat this process several more times for EVERY phone on their plan. These phones become blacklisted, financed iPhones, that are reported lost, and are now banned from using on any carrier.
If you must buy an AT&T iPhone from eBay, Craigslist, or any other market place, remember to check with AT&T that the phone is PAID OFF IN FULL. It doesn't matter if a phone is still sealed in the box, it can still be a financed phone using the AT&T Next Plan.
