Concluding that practically everything on CL is stolen based on that is a logical fallacy.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Scammed on CL - Out a (functional) 5S - where to next?
- Thread starter runningtowin
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
...no where did I ever conclude that "everything on CL" is stolen. I didn't even say that most phones sold through Craigslist were stolen. But enough of them are stolen phones that when someone buys a phone off of craigslist, they should be very aware that it's a big possibility. I really don't understand how you disagree with this
$649 is less than $20,000 for a new car which can also kill someone if you hit a person
I'm kind of bewildered by the utter lack of understanding in this forum. How are your axoneurons firing today? It's reported LOST. It isn't necessarily STOLEN, there is a separate function for STOLEN phones. When I resold it, I listed it as blacklisted ESN / bad IMEI. These phones are fully functional overseas and can be used there no problem. Do you understand?
It is NOT iCloud locked for, as I said, I've been using it for months and it's completely tied to my iCloud account.
Once a phone is blacklisted I'm pretty positive Apple and the Carrier basically terminate that specific phone. Unless the person with the phone is able to get it back to the original owner, I don't think there is anything that Apple of the carrier would be able to do.
I would have resold the phone too. Its not the buyers fault that he purchased a stolen/lost phone.
Not every phone you get off of Craigslist is a bad phone. There are actually honest people on there trying to sell things they don't need or use anymore. If you use common sense when you are using Craigslist, you'll be alright.
I would have resold the phone too. Its not the buyers fault that he purchased a stolen/lost phone.
Not every phone you get off of Craigslist is a bad phone. There are actually honest people on there trying to sell things they don't need or use anymore. If you use common sense when you are using Craigslist, you'll be alright.
Right. Like I said, this wasn't like, $100, or sold with any significant sense of urgency. I've made dozens or even hundreds of deals on Craigslist, and just this one went sour. It sucks, but it's not the end of the world.
I agree. Out of the many *MANY* CL deals I have done over years and years, I have only had one of them go sour...well, two technically. One was a no show when I drove an hour to the meeting place (learned my lesson regarding that), the other was on me because I was being sloppy, and I ended up with a Activation Locked iPad 128 gig that was worth like $750. That one was on me though because I didn't take the time while the guy was sitting there letting me check out the ipad to go through the setup process.
Every other deal I have done has been like clockwork. Sure, I've talked to some shady people through text and on the phone, but I never go through with those deals, because I can filter through the garbage. It's really just using common sense. I've had to wait up to a month of having my ad up at times before I was able to know I had a good deal lined up.
Every other deal I have done has been like clockwork. Sure, I've talked to some shady people through text and on the phone, but I never go through with those deals, because I can filter through the garbage. It's really just using common sense. I've had to wait up to a month of having my ad up at times before I was able to know I had a good deal lined up.
The same fallacy applies to the conclusion that "most phones" being stolen. Even a tiny sampling in this thread shows the opposite about most phones that people have obtained through CL....no where did I ever conclude that "everything on CL" is stolen. I didn't even say that most phones sold through Craigslist were stolen. But enough of them are stolen phones that when someone buys a phone off of craigslist, they should be very aware that it's a big possibility. I really don't understand how you disagree with this
If you buy a phone from someone claiming it is "brand new factory sealed" and you fail to get proof of purchase from the seller, that's on you.
Again, use common sense when dealing on Craigslist is all that's neccesary to avoid getting screwed.
Again, use common sense when dealing on Craigslist is all that's neccesary to avoid getting screwed.
...no where did I ever conclude that "everything on CL" is stolen. I didn't even say that most phones sold through Craigslist were stolen. But enough of them are stolen phones that when someone buys a phone off of craigslist, they should be very aware that it's a big possibility. I really don't understand how you disagree with this
You didn't verify it was cellular company phone number?
Was it a fake cell phone number? or a real cell phone number.
If it's real, you can always file police charges. Police can always have authority to request to the courts to get to the bottom of this.
I should add, I suppose, it's an unlocked (A1533) iPhone 5S - does that get me anywhere? Or still blacklisted?
I would bet yes, unfortunately. I honestly would probably just sell the iPhone for parts. Is it a 16 or 32 gig? You'd be surprised how much you can get basically a paperweight. At least then you can get some of your money back and try to get something else that will work better for you.
16 GB. I've actually received offers for more than I paid for it, but I love the device and would like to keep using, if possible...
You can use it as an iPod Touch basically as is, lol. If you can get more than you put into it then I would definitely do that, and then move on with purchasing a different iPhone 5S. Just make sure you are confident the device will be okay this time
You can use it as an iPod Touch basically as is, lol. If you can get more than you put into it then I would definitely do that, and then move on with purchasing a different iPhone 5S. Just make sure you are confident the device will be okay this time
That's the plan. Swappa, I think. Or buy a burner and wait for the 6 but... I like the small phones!
You buy it off craigslist...and soon after the IMEI gets blocked.
Buddy, that was a stolen phone, plain and simple. The fact that you sold a stolen phone is wrong. You can justify it however you like.
----------
...I never concluded that "most" CL phones are stolen. But enough of them are that anyone who buys a cell phone off of craigslist should not be stunned when something like this happens.
It's truly obvious and simple to understand. Which part are you having an issue with?
There is NO proof that the phone was stolen. And again, even if it was, the phone is literally terminated at that point, so being a good samaritan and turning the phone is isn't going to do jack crap.
1. The phones IMEI is blacklisted after he bought it off Craigslist...? That's a stolen phone if I've ever seen one, buddy.
2. No, it's not "terminated" at that point. Where the hell do you people get this information...? The original owner at that point can have the IMEI blacklist removed just by calling the carrier.
Seriously, if you people don't think that was a stolen phone and the IMEI just MAGICALLY got blacklisted, I've got a bridge to sell you.
As I work in the wireless industry, I deal with blacklisted phones all the time. These shady people walk in and say they bought them off craigslist (yes, it's always craigslist) and then demand to know why they cannot use it on the network. And I look up the IMEI, and *EVERY* time, it's been reported stolen. So stop deluding yourselves into believing the IMEI just randomly
Blacklisted itself, because it didn't. It was stolen and the rightful owner reported it stolen.
Last edited:
Dude whatever you got to tell yourself to make yourself feel better about this thread. People don't report their phones stolen a MONTH later if they are being for real, that's all I know.
As someone who actually deals with people who've had their phones stolen on a DAILY basis, yes, they DO frequently wait a few weeks to a month. A lot of the times they cannot immediately pay the insurance fee when getting a replacement, so they wait a few weeks hoping it will show up or they will find it. And a lot of times they are told that if they had Find My iPhone turned on (most people don't remember if they did) they should wait to report it stolen because it would take it off the network and there would be a much lower chance of it showing up on icloud.com.Dude whatever you got to tell yourself to make yourself feel better about this thread. People don't report their phones stolen a MONTH later if they are being for real, that's all I know.
This phone was stolen, whether you like it or not. It was wrong to go out and resell it. If you have stolen property, you should do your utmost to return it to the original owner. Just because you bought a stolen device (a real shocker I'm sure, coming from Craigslist) doesn't make it right for you to resell it when you find out it was stolen. It makes you every bit as bad as the thief. Trying to recoupe your losses is no excuse for not returning a stolen phone.
Last edited:
Is it possible that the guy that sold it to the OP just randomly called to have it blacklisted for an insurance purpose? Seller gets money plus gets a new phone (minus any deductible) out of it. Who knows.
Possible, but incredibly unlikely. It's like finding your neighbors house burning down to the ground. You can't just refuse to call 911 because there's a small chance that it MIGHT be insurance fraud. Same thing here, you can't just assume it's insurance fraud cause it's very unlikely. It's no excuse to not return the device, that's just wrong.
Especially the fact that they waited a month to report it stolen. If it were insurance fraud they would have reported it stolen very quickly. The fact that they waited a month tells me they couldn't afford even the insurance fee, or they were hoping for it to show up. Or they had no insurance to begin with.