People asking for IMEI/Serial #

[Poochi]

Posted my iPhone to sell on the online classified, got a few requests to provide them with IMEI/Serial # so they can "call Apple to make sure the phone is not stolen".

Is there any legitimate reasons where it is a legitimate request? Smells like a scam so it must be a scam? lol

 

[stisdal]

Scam !!!

 

[GTghost]

Just say that you have the receipt and the original box.

 

[james92se]

Scam !!!

What can the person do with the IMEI/serial #?

 

[Daveoc64]

What can the person do with the IMEI/serial #?

I don't know if this can be done with an iPhone, but some countries/carriers will block the IMEI of phones that have been reported lost/stolen.

In order to get around that, some people alter the IMEI of a stolen phone to that of a genuine one.

If done carefully, it would be hard to detect.