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Found an iPhone, what to do...

A

aethelbert

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jun 1, 2007
4,287
0
Chicago, IL, USA
I found a brand new, unopened iPhone at the PHL airport today, 16/3/2008.


Well, my 'found' thread got locked for some reason, so I'm gonna quote myself from there now:

This is probably a long shot, but I would like to return this iPhone to its owner if possible. Mods, if this is somehow against forum rules, please just send me a PM saying that it needs to be closed and then feel free to delete/close/wasteland/move or whatever.

I arrived today into Philadelphia off of a transatlantic flight in A-West and was one of the first off the plane and the first one through immigration. The arrivals hall was empty so I guess earlier flights had already been processed. Since I had no checked baggage, I headed for customs. Before getting there, I saw an unopened 8GB iPhone box on the edge of a baggage carousel so I alerted a customs agent. I was told that it had been sitting there for a while and that it couldn't legally enter the United States unless declared by someone, which means that it couldn't go to the lost and found... And since this area is restricted to international arrivals only, it would be virtually impossible for anyone to get back up there. So I asked if I could bring it in to the US to attempt to find the owner and showed the agent that I wouldn't keep it as I already had mine. He said that I'm as good as anyone else to bring it in, so I did.

I don't really understand the laws behind bringing this in, so don't flame me if I worded something wrong. Don't flame me for taking it out of the airport, either, as it would be impossible to get it out of this restricted area, as I was told by the head border protection agent on duty. I don't want to start an ethics or morals debate as I'm just trying to help someone.

I'm looking to find the owner of this iPhone. If you left an iPhone in the International Arrivals hall at termainal A-West in Philadelphia today, 16 March 2008, (or maybe even yesterday, though I can't imagine that nobody would have taken it if sitting there for that long), please contact me. If you can show me a scan of a reciept with a matching serial number, a boarding pass from an international origin to PHL with your name, and a passport page with a stamp from PHL dated today (or yesterday, must correspond with boarding pass), this is 99.999% likley to be yours. I don't think that there's any kind a security risk by scanning a passport page with stamps, but if someone more informed than I says different, then I won't require that.

I really hope that I can re-unite someone with this. Now I'm not gonna charge you out the wazoo to get this back, just whatever it costs for me to mail this to you (I can overnight it if you want) with postage and supplies. It probably won't even be $20. Please, I don't want anyone trying to lie about being there and losing their boarding pass or any of that stuff as I can't imagine the pain that the owner must be going through right now.

I really hope that you can see that I'm trying to do the right thing and not trying to make a quick buck (because you know that one could make A LOT more than $20). I really hope that someone can get their iPhone back.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

I'm not too sure that I can find the owner. I'm wondering if anyone has any good ideas on places other than macrumors and craigslist where I can list this to find the owner. Any ideas? Has anyone ever been a situation like this an been successful as the finder (or even the one who lost the thing)?

I appriceate your input.
Thanks
 
Maybe you could call apple with the S/N on the box and they can tell you whom bought it or at least get in touch with whom bought it.
 
Mindflux said:
Maybe you could call apple with the S/N on the box and they can tell you whom bought it or at least get in touch with whom bought it.
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What number would you suggest calling? AppleCare doesn't seem right, but I don't know. I know that they've not been too helpful with this stuff in the past, but it's worth a try.
 
have you notified the airport or Customs? once the owner realizes it's missing, s/he'll probably notify those places to be on the lookout.

i feel compelled to add that it genuinely brings me joy to see someone doing the honest, noble thing instead of profiting from someone else's misfortune.
 
That's great that you are doing your best to try to find the original owner, but the mods aren't going to take too kindly to you posting this multiple times:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/455293/

Your best bet would be to contact them about displaying this more prominently on the site or trying in your local paper/Craigslist.
If you have already contacted the mods and they gave you permission to double post then I offer my apologies for bringing it up.
 
Mindflux said:
Maybe you could call apple with the S/N on the box and they can tell you whom bought it or at least get in touch with whom bought it.
Click to expand...

Or AT&T. I have a buddy who runs a store for them and will check in the morning if he can do some research.

I also sent this to Arn in hopes they'll consider this for a Page 1 special headline. If anything, the more people see this the better chance to find the owner. And for the heckuvit I submitted it to Drudge... time for a positive news story for a change!

It's really encouraging to see good selfless acts of kindness like this.
 
That's really nice of you to go to this trouble.

I hope you find the owner. And if not, after a reasonable length of time has elapsed, then I suppose you will have inherited a new iPhone. If you don't want to keep it, you can sell it and donate the money to charity.
 
pianoman said:
have you notified the airport or Customs? once the owner realizes it's missing, s/he'll probably notify those places to be on the lookout.

i feel compelled to add that it genuinely brings me joy to see someone doing the honest, noble thing instead of profiting from someone else's misfortune.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I notified customs about the box sitting on the carousel. They're the ones that told me that nobody could come back for it. I did leave my name and contact info with someone with border protection, but I'm not so sure that it will be left in good hands. So I figured that I would try to find the owner instead of having someone just taking it. And PHL airport is the last place that I would want to tell about something like this as they employ some of the biggest jerks that I've ever had the mispleasure of dealing with.

maceleven said:
:cool:
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Comment not appriceated.

blairwillis said:
Or AT&T. I have a buddy who runs a store for them and will check in the morning if he can do some research.
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Good idea, but finding it in an international arrivals terminal makes me think that it was purchased abroad and probably not at an AT&T store. And since the box hasn't been opened, I doubt that AT&T is even a part of this picture.

notjustjay said:
And if not, after a reasonable length of time has elapsed, then I suppose you will have inherited a new iPhone. If you don't want to keep it, you can sell it and donate the money to charity.
Click to expand...
I've already got one, and I do plan to donate the money to a charity if I can't find the owner.

Thanks everyone for your support!
 
Stampyhead said:
That's great that you are doing your best to try to find the original owner, but the mods aren't going to take too kindly to you posting this multiple times:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/455293/

Your best bet would be to contact them about displaying this more prominently on the site or trying in your local paper/Craigslist.
If you have already contacted the mods and they gave you permission to double post then I offer my apologies for bringing it up.
Click to expand...
Here I'm just asking for ideas for where to list it next, not to alert attention to the fact that it was found... I don't plan to post it anywhere else, I just used the link for background information so that I can get some ideas.

stevegmu said:
I would think the airport lost and found would be your best bet.

http://www.phl.org/lostfound.html
Click to expand...
It was lost at a checkpoint, where they specifically say not to report lost items... Oh well. And the staff employed by the airport at PHL wouldn't be too helpful here (so I think), because they've never been helpful to me in the past. I'd like to avoid them if I can, but if someone reports a lost iPhone to them, I'll try to get the contact info.
 
Call AppleCare. They will contact the owner if he/she registered the product or if they somehow can get any info from the serial number or IMEI. Trust me, it works. My sister got her week-old iPod back after leaving it in Boston Logan Airport and a nice couple knew to call Apple to return it.
 
i apologize

:(
akonradi said:
Yeah, I notified customs about the box sitting on the carousel. They're the ones that told me that nobody could come back for it. I did leave my name and contact info with someone with border protection, but I'm not so sure that it will be left in good hands. So I figured that I would try to find the owner instead of having someone just taking it. And PHL airport is the last place that I would want to tell about something like this as they employ some of the biggest jerks that I've ever had the mispleasure of dealing with.


Comment not appriceated.


Good idea, but finding it in an international arrivals terminal makes me think that it was purchased abroad and probably not at an AT&T store. And since the box hasn't been opened, I doubt that AT&T is even a part of this picture.


I've already got one, and I do plan to donate the money to a charity if I can't find the owner.

Thanks everyone for your support!
Click to expand...
 
Due props.

Good luck to you, OP. I hope you find the rightful owner, and thanks for your time and efforts. It's nice to know there are people like you in the world. :) It sounds like you are using every option I can think of already.
 
Keep it. Sell it. Use it. Donate it.

You found a phone in an international airport. It is like finding a phone in a taxi. That person might check with the lost and found, but if nothing shows up, s/he moves on. Tough luck for them, good luck for you.
 
cycocelica said:
Keep it. Sell it. Use it. Donate it.

You found a phone in an international airport. It is like finding a phone in a taxi. That person might check with the lost and found, but if nothing shows up, s/he moves on. Tough luck for them, good luck for you.
Click to expand...

Well, I think that much has already been established. The OP's just being more persistant than average, which I think is great.

I found a $20 sitting on the floor at a food court once. Nobody around said anything when I picked it up and held it for a minute (e.g. "Hey, wait, that's mine"). I bought my lunch (with my own money) and sat at a table near where I found it, waiting to see if anyone looked like they had dropped some money. Nobody ever did claim it, so I donated the $20 to charity.
 
cycocelica said:
Keep it. Sell it. Use it. Donate it.

You found a phone in an international airport. It is like finding a phone in a taxi. That person might check with the lost and found, but if nothing shows up, s/he moves on. Tough luck for them, good luck for you.
Click to expand...

If you take anything that you find in a taxi, or in a shop, that is most definitely theft. It is not lost, because it is still on someone's property. The owner of the taxi or the owner of the shop is in possession of the item, so taking it away is theft. The same thing as if you took an iPod out of my pocket that I borrowed from a friend.
 
gnasher729 said:
If you take anything that you find in a taxi, or in a shop, that is most definitely theft. It is not lost, because it is still on someone's property. The owner of the taxi or the owner of the shop is in possession of the item, so taking it away is theft. The same thing as if you took an iPod out of my pocket that I borrowed from a friend.
Click to expand...

So are you telling me that when I bring my cell phone to a friends, it becomes his property? I am not following.

And me taking something out your pocket is completely different then me taking something from a taxi that someone left behind.
 
cycocelica said:
So are you telling me that when I bring my cell phone to a friends, it becomes his property? I am not following.

And me taking something out your pocket is completely different then me taking something from a taxi that someone left behind.
Click to expand...

It becomes his if you leave it there and don't claim it. Someone else can't go into your friend's house, see it, and then claim it as his own.
 
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