Is there any risk that commercially resold smartphones are stolen?

Factual Questions
1

I recently bought a cheap used s10 from an online retailer. When I told my parents, my dad became interested and wanted my help getting one for him too. But he was wary about possibly getting a stolen phone, so instead bought a somewhat more expensive used phone from a brick-and-mortar chain. So I wondered about the risk.

I know phones can be IMEI blocked. I don’t know how efficient the system is. Yes, you can get the IMEI number from your google account, but how much hassle is it to prove towards the blacklist site that it really was your phone?

2

Oh, aye, a lot of hassle!

Speaking as a former T-Mobile tech, if you get a phone from a reseller (Ebay, friend of a friend, etc) that is IMEI blocked you were 99% of the time SOL. Because the original carrier will NOT discuss anything about who is the owner (and therefore the ONLY person who can clear it) without speaking to said owner. So you buy a used phone, which is locked, and you track it down to the carrier, and then you’re done.

But, if you’re buying from an online retailer with reasonably good service, you are much more likely to get them to refund your purchase.

For the record, in my prior experience, an IMEI block for a stolen phone was maybe 20-30% of the IMEI blocks we saw were for “lost and/or stolen” phones, the vast majority were ones that blocked due to non-payment. IE the prior ‘owner’ had purchased a phone on a payment plan, and stopped paying for the phone / service /etc and sold the phone before all the late payment drama finished paying off. Because that way it still “worked” - a few billing cycles later, it all catches up, the phone gets blocked, and I got the call from the new Owner who was very angry with me that WE were blocking THEIR phone that they had done nothing wrong with.

On VERY, VERY rare occasion, a former customer in the above would call back, and be trying to get the phone unlocked, although almost always because they had given the phone to a friend/family member rather than sold it. If it was “lost/stolen” by their request, easy fix if it was fully paid. If it was “lost/stolen” and they had insurance on it that paid out, they had to talk to (and pay back!) the insurance carrier (ouch). If it was blocked for non-payment, it was UGLY. Because even if they only owed, say, $50 on the phone, if the account had been canceled for being delinquent, they had to pay ALL of the remaining debt on the account, not just the portion of the phone, to get it unlocked.

Oh, and lastly, if it was your phone, and locked for some reason, proving that was medium difficult. Generally, if you bought it from a carrier, you’d have to verify you were you as it were (which, if you forgot all your security info, may require going into a retail store with a current photo ID), and there was a good chance of locating the bill of sale. If you bought directly from the manufacturer (non-carrier sold phone) then you had to hope and pray THEY had those records or you had receipts. Sometimes this was VERY bad luck for iOS/Apple customers, after they forgot a throw-away AppleID they set up and locked their phone - absolutely nothing the carrier could do. And if it was a family member or friend who bought them the phone… well, I was always angry about those low scores for my evaluations.

3

I’d also be concerned about how much component life was left in a 5-year-old phone.

4

Yes, there’s a risk. But the retailer gave 1 year warranty, and the s10 looks like it has quite a solid build. My last phone was an S5 which lasted 7 years, and died due to a cracked screen, not component fatigue.

5

So there are some private owners who managed to get their stolen phones blocked. But probably a minority.

Looking at the two receipts I have for smartphones, one contained nothing identifying me nor the phone except brand/mark. One had what is possibly a s/n and some payment card info which could probably identify me, but not easily. Also was a jpg so easily forged.

6

There is an endless debates on the pro and cons of buying a carrier phone, so yeah, you aren’t completely without resources as a private buyer, but it can be more difficult. Again, stolen phones are absolutely a thing, but re-selling them, outside of sites/individuals that don’t require much verification, allows for quite a bit of risk to the thief as well.

So, back to my first post, if you’re buying from a reputable seller or service, the risk is probably small. But, historically, the ones getting the “too good to be true” deals were often falling into the trap of the trope, and I always personally felt that in many cases, they knew that something shady was going on, but felt like it would all work out for them anyway. :roll_eyes:

7

2 years ago, I set my mother up with a eSIM plan to take her phone to Florida for the winter as Canadian roaming rates were ridiculously expensive. The night before she left, she dropped her iPhone in the toilet. :sob:

When she got down to Florida, she bought a used iPhone from a reseller and they popped her Canadian SIM in until I could setup her eSIM again. Frustration ensued that ended up with 2 trips to T-Mobile before giving up and getting an AT&T SIM which also didn’t work. It turned out that the phone was on the US block list, but it worked just fine with a Canadian SIM. Luckily the dealer swapped it, I confirmed it was not on either block list and happiness ensued. It would have taken me less time to fly down myself and sort it out.