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AT&T Unveiling New Blocking Service for Stolen Phones Next Week
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Other countries don't matter.They are just implementing this nowthis has been available for years in other countries...
No incentive for the SELLER to say their phone is stolen. Not like AT&T is going to give them a new one.
On the other hand, if you BUY a phone that has already been stolen and then sold to you. Tough luck.
Well, obviously you don't have to buy it and maybe you have that many friends that have an iphone that need to get rid of.
There is nothing wrong with buying used phones, especially iphones, which when taken care of look like new even after years of use.
The problem is, as some of the other posters have mentioned, that the owner(s) can claim his/her phone was stolen, even if it is not the case.
I remember there was a poster in this forum who actually bought a used iphone, met the owner at the sprint store and activated it right there......and guess what, the douchebag owner claimed it was stolen a week later and the new owner was now left with a brick.....
Yea that's exactly what I'm talking about. IMO, for this to work properly there should be a police report.
Actually they matter a lot. If there wasn't proof that these systems do in fact work, then US carriers wouldn't have folded into pressure of implementing it.
Not to mention, you want these systems to talk to each other. What good is banning a phone in the US when you can take it to the UK and activate it.
If the seller misrepresents the item, then eBay / Paypal could force a refund. If the seller didn't know it was stolen, it doesn't really matter ... because the item doesn't function as advertised.
I suspect that most eBay listings will say no refunds or something to that affect. However, they will have a harder time selling it for the price they wanted.
Ouch!! Would the settlement be in minutes or dollars?
neither. it will be in megabytes
step in the right direction, but i bet this will hurt resale values.
there seems to be nothing to protect legitimate 2nd hand buyers
there seems to be nothing to protect legitimate 2nd hand buyers
Am I the only one that feels this won't really solve any problems? From what i've heard and seen, theives rarely steal phones just to use the phones themselves. It's often to resell them and make money. As it's impossible to determine this if you buy a phone from a 3rd party over the internet, this basically sets a ton of people up to purchase phones and have them DOA.
I realize this is a good step in the right direction, though.
I realize this is a good step in the right direction, though.
No, it requires purchasers - who probably didn't care all that much where the phone came from as long as they were getting a good deal - to be more vigilant when buying from some mope on Craigslist.
We have in Uzbekistan (which is not advanced as a US or some western EU, but), good service, if your phone is stolen you simple contact to local police with evidence you owned that phone. and they track your phone down and recover it. only thing you have to do report and pay very little charge for postage. actually this system is working very well so far, but in West, Police too busy with other "crimes"
What would be the point? Neither the seller or buyer would have a useful device.
How much you wanna bet that AT&T will charge for this service? It's unnatural that AT&T would provide something without asking for something bigger in return, namely your money.
That's rather my point. The carriers nor Apple are going to be inclined to assist folks, which is why neither is mentioned in this service, because there are other options.
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Carriers already have to do this kind of thing with the legally required GPS. But the police are not going to go to the fuss of getting a warrant etc just cause someone stole your phone. and even if Apple created something they would likely have to go through the same process. Heck some states might require a warrant for them to use the 'find my iPhone' details. the US is quirky like that.
i'm very glad to see this. i've had a phone stolen, and even though i was able to wipe my data from it, i went to at&t and they couldn't do anything to help the situation. hopefully now they can
If the purchaser was smart enough to get a signed receipt for payment for the phone, then in some jurisdictions that might be enough evidence for the DA to file criminal charges over a fraudulent theft report.
A more interesting question is if a 2nd hand phone is later stolen from a purchaser of that used phone, how do they prove they have the legal right to have that phone blocked, since they aren't listed as the original owner with either Apple or AT&T.
There would need to be some way to prove that the owner and account holder were putting their phone up for sale, and thus could no longer report it stolen. Maybe something that could only be done in an AT&T store after showing ID.
Sorry but I'm having to LOL a little at all the people who have had their phones stolen and what they want done about it.
A iPhone is just like any other gadgetry. I do not understand this thinking, where people are entitled to something (even vindication) just because their phone got stolen.
If your car stereo got stolen would Honda care or do anything? If your iMac were stolen from your apartment would Apple care?
What is it about a phone that makes people feel that they are entitled to have anything done about it period?
As far as I'm concerned, a phone that's stolen is a phone that you'll never see again, so what's the point of dwelling on it? Police reports, Verizon, AT&T, Apple, your mom all can't do a damn thing about it.
Morale of the story: Like anything you care about, keep it within sight at all times.
A iPhone is just like any other gadgetry. I do not understand this thinking, where people are entitled to something (even vindication) just because their phone got stolen.
If your car stereo got stolen would Honda care or do anything? If your iMac were stolen from your apartment would Apple care?
What is it about a phone that makes people feel that they are entitled to have anything done about it period?
As far as I'm concerned, a phone that's stolen is a phone that you'll never see again, so what's the point of dwelling on it? Police reports, Verizon, AT&T, Apple, your mom all can't do a damn thing about it.
Morale of the story: Like anything you care about, keep it within sight at all times.