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Bought a stolen iPhone?

N

Norcal.

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 7, 2012
137
172
I purchased an iPhone 5c on eBay and checked the IMEI/MEID numbers on a site called "swappa" and it says the phone has been reported as stolen and is blacklisted. I've checked other sites and it didn't say anything about it being reported as stolen.

I guess i’m just confused as to whether or not it’s actually stolen. It’s supposedly a Verizon phone and i’ve been using it on their network without a problem - if it was really stolen wouldn't there be no service? Are there any other concrete ways to figure this out?

Thanks.
 
If you were able to activate it then it is not imei/meid blocked. That is not to say that it can't be blocked later if it is stolen/lost.
 
Norcal. said:
I guess i’m just confused as to whether or not it’s actually stolen. It’s supposedly a Verizon phone and i’ve been using it on their network without a problem - if it was really stolen wouldn't there be no service? Are there any other concrete ways to figure this out?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
What is there to figure out? You've stated that you are already using it on Verizon without a problem so I wouldn't worry about it. If it was reported as lost/stolen you wouldn't be able to use it at all.
 
Just checked on Verizon's site and it confirms that it was reported stolen and "cannot be activated at this time". Which makes me wonder even more how I'm using it right now with a Verizon SIM card. Maybe it takes a while for them to block the service to it?

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I would contact Verizon's customer service dept. and see what they say about it. Since it is a Verizon iPhone they would know more about it than anyone here. Good luck. :)
 
Eileen89 said:
I would contact Verizon's customer service dept. and see what they say about it. Since it is a Verizon iPhone they would know more about it than anyone here. Good luck. :)
Click to expand...

I am not sure I would do this. Maybe something in the system kept it from blocking. If you call, there are two things they can do:

1 - Tell you all is well.

2 - Realize they screwed up and block it. Now you are screwed.

What is there to gain?

My GUESS is whatever system they have in place is used when you activate. Since you already got past that point, you are safe.
 
Just got off the phone with someone w/ Verizon who said it's fine.. Yet their own website says it's lost\stolen. Confused....

Not sure if it's worth keeping, I don't want it to all of a sudden get blocked a month later or something. I only have 30-45 days to open a case with eBay for a refund.
 
I'm sure its a glitch since the Verizon reps access would be more accurate than the public access. Why penalize the seller when he did nothing wrong.
 
Just reset the phone to factory settings and it activated it again fine. I wonder if there's a delay to cut the service off if it's lost\stolen?
 
617aircav said:
I'm sure its a glitch since the Verizon reps access would be more accurate than the public access. Why penalize the seller when he did nothing wrong.
Click to expand...

He's not penalizing anyone.
If the phone is good and with no blocks then he can still use it or sell it to someone else.
The only thing the seller will lose is time spend listing and selling it but better safe than sorry later for the OP.
I doubt its just a glitch showing clean devices reported as lost or stolen.
 
Norcal. said:
Just got off the phone with someone w/ Verizon who said it's fine.. Yet their own website says it's lost\stolen. Confused....

Not sure if it's worth keeping, I don't want it to all of a sudden get blocked a month later or something. I only have 30-45 days to open a case with eBay for a refund.
Click to expand...

I would file a claim now while you still can.


Applejuiced said:
It's a risk.
Maybe soon it might get locked or next time you update the iOS version and try to activate it.
You got it working now but for how long?
I'd get a refund and return it.
Click to expand...

I agree that it not worth the risk to keep it. The OP might end up with a very expensive brick down the road should the device suddenly become locked or something.
 
Let the vendor know the score, file a claim with eBay, but give Verizon the chance to sort out the glitch. If all is well, withdraw the claim, if they cannot clear the flag on the record within the allowed time, go for a refund.
 
Applejuiced said:
He's not penalizing anyone.
If the phone is good and with no blocks then he can still use it or sell it to someone else.
The only thing the seller will lose is time spend listing and selling it but better safe than sorry later for the OP.
I doubt its just a glitch showing clean devices reported as lost or stolen.
Click to expand...

It is a glitch if the verizn rep is looking at it and seeing something else.
 
Open a claim for a refund with Ebay. you have the Verizon screenshot with the IMEI as proof, submit that to them and you should be good.... Don't wait for this to be an issue down the line. Maybe it will be fine but maybe your service will be cut off or you won't be able to sell it in the future. I wouldn't run the risk if I were you.
 
Definitely return it. Not worth the worry imo.

It can take awhile for a tagged phone to actually get tagged by the system that checks for these iemi numbers on the network. Once it decides to start blocking it, it's game over. The phone will not work on any network after that, and the SIM card will be flagged/blocked as well.

I had a phone that worked great for a couple of days and then after that no more access.
 
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