I have a suspicion this thread will end with a "whoops-a-daisy! All good to go!" from the OP when the seller responses with the passcode.
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Is this an iPhone scam? If so, how does it work?
- Thread starter Phrasikleia
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Let's hope so. So far he has been "regrouping" for the last two and half hours.
Something just occurred to me, though. How is he supposed to wipe this phone using Find My iPhone if the phone isn't connected to the internet?
All he has to do is remove that device from his icloud account if he does have it setup.
If he doesn't have it setup you're good to go.
Your guess is as good as mine. I am an American, and all that term tells me is that he needs to buy some time for some reason.
Yes, be sure to inform him to do that as he's most likely clueless.
I'm American and don't know what he means either. Must be a Saudi thing
ok then at this point you should worry.
if he had time to read and reply to your email and all he could come up with is that he needs to regroup something fishy is going on.
if he had time to read and reply to your email and all he could come up with is that he needs to regroup something fishy is going on.
Not really.
As soon as you file a dispute case the money is automatically tied up and he has no access to it until there is a resolution and the case is closed either by an agreement of both parties or closed by Ebay.
If he doesn't respond you automatically win the case by KO and you get your money
I'm American and don't know what he means either. Must be a Saudi thing
maybe he is playing counter strike whilst emailing the OP.
Damn, figures.
It was worth a try.
Not sure if he forgot to restore and remove his icloud account or was trying to sell a lost/stolen iphone.
It was worth a try.
Not sure if he forgot to restore and remove his icloud account or was trying to sell a lost/stolen iphone.
Damn, figures.
It was worth a try.
Not sure if he forgot to restore and remove his icloud account or was trying to sell a lost/stolen iphone.
I'm not sure either. So now what do I do? Is there any reason for me to leave a SIM in the phone, or can he release it remotely from his account without me needing to do anything? He has been "regrouping" for about 3.5 hours now, so I don't know what to expect, but I'd like to be ready for any positive action he might actually try to carry out.
What do you mean regrouping? Did he ever respond to you at all? What did he say?
If he removes it from his icloud account then you can put your sim in and it will activate and work.
If he don't respond to the open case then after so many days you will just get your money refunded.
Yes, he replied to me about 3.5 hours ago. See post #64 of this thread. All he said was that he needed to "regroup" and would get back to me. I have no idea what he means by that, and so far he hasn't gotten back to me. I just sent him yet another eBay message, this time including the link for how to remove the phone from his account. I can't figure this guy out. Right now I'm filing him somewhere between "clueless" and "scammer," but I don't know which end he most resembles.
Yep, weird for sure.
What regroup? if its really your phone just log in to icloud and remove it. It takes 1 minute.
Something sounds fishy with him but either way since you have a case open you wont lose your money.
Probably will waste a bunch of your time and have to wait around for a refund if he doesn't accept the resolution on his end.
What regroup? if its really your phone just log in to icloud and remove it. It takes 1 minute.
Something sounds fishy with him but either way since you have a case open you wont lose your money.
Probably will waste a bunch of your time and have to wait around for a refund if he doesn't accept the resolution on his end.
to me, regroup just means... taking a step back, evaluate the current conditions, then come back in with a new tactical approach... we use the term in consulting from time to time.
so for him, he needs to figure out what to do next... either keep scamming or do the right thing and remove the phone from his iCloud account.
Good luck OP!
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/regroup
so for him, he needs to figure out what to do next... either keep scamming or do the right thing and remove the phone from his iCloud account.
Good luck OP!
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/regroup
Thanks. Yes, I'm well aware of the literal meaning of the word, but it is anyone's guess as to what he really means by it. He doesn't have options for different tactical approaches, as far as I'm aware. He has to release the lock on the phone. If he doesn't, he won't get his money. I suppose his other option would be to offer me a return, but where does that get him?
except that there is no obvious scam here, unless he is incredibly stupid to taint his impecable rep over at ebay and expect the OP not to realise the phone is password locked.
By the way, this thread has me really worried:
http://forums.imore.com/iphone-5s/268387-activation-locked-iphone-dfu-mode.html
A guy in the same boat, and he LOST the case with eBay!
Just goes to show that it's not really a good idea to buy on eBay unless you're willing to lose the money. Scammers can always find a way to game the system, no matter how good the preventive measures are.
I would never buy on eBay.
Good grief this guy is dense! He just sent a reply through eBay, after I sent him a link explaining how to release the phone via iCloud. He just said this: "Regroup as in I've got some jet lag. I have removed this phone from my iCloud account and I thought I did a master reset but maybe I forgot to."
Clearly he did NOT remove the phone from his iCloud account, and for whatever reason, is still not trying to do it! Don't tell me you did it, when you clearly didn't!!! Unbelievable.
Clearly he did NOT remove the phone from his iCloud account, and for whatever reason, is still not trying to do it! Don't tell me you did it, when you clearly didn't!!! Unbelievable.
very true, it's not obvious... but doesn't mean it still can't happen
i know
i am very intrigued by this. i even subscribed to this thread to find out how this story ends.
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Good grief this guy is dense! He just sent a reply through eBay, after I sent him a link explaining how to release the phone via iCloud. He just said this: "Regroup as in I've got some jet lag. I have removed this phone from my iCloud account and I thought I did a master reset but maybe I forgot to."
Clearly he did NOT remove the phone from his iCloud account, and for whatever reason, is still not trying to do it! Don't tell me you did it, when you clearly didn't!!! Unbelievable.
calm down.
he might have just returned from saudi arabia. it would explain why he was ignoring your emails. didn you say he travelled there often.
as for "removing his icloud" account maybe what he did was to unregister the phone with apple. this will not remove the password lock however.
Well, he mailed my package from New Orleans four days ago, so that was a quick trip to Saudi Arabia if he's back already. And his Facebook page shows him drinking shots in a bar in New Orleans on Wednesday.
I'm feeling fairly exasperated at this point because he won't just go on iCloud and release the phone per the Apple instructions that I sent him.
And now I've just received a message from him with a phone number, telling me to call him. eBay says that all correspondence should go through them, so I'm not calling him.
This is frustrating OP. tough to be patient, but may have to be. Let's up he gets woken up soon and figures out how to release the phone via icloud.com.