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Buying a Used Telus iPhone 6 - How to protect myself so I don't get scammed?

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Sr. Member
Jan 20, 2012
559 posts
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LONDON

Buying a Used Telus iPhone 6 - How to protect myself so I don't get scammed?

I'm looking at buying an iPhone 6 in London, ON at a decent price on Kijiji. I'm with Telus and I have been watching a couple of ads carefully and waiting to jump on one of them. However, I have some concerns since I have been burned before.

I bought a Nexus 4 a few months back from a known seller I've dealt with before, all was working, and 1 day later the phone became blacklisted. The guy never returned my calls. I checked online with that national database and it was clean before. Same thing happened to me 2 months ago with a Galaxy S4 (different seller).

Anyways, I have an iPhone 5S that I love but I miss the bigger screen, so I want to buy an iPhone 6, but I don't want to pay $850.

I have a few concerns. I already know how to check for the activation lock and if the phone is in Lost Mode, so that's covered. But..

1) How do I make sure the seller cannot report it stolen or lost later on? Whether it's for insurance purposes or being a ****? Would I be able to meet the person at a Telus Store to make sure the seller is the actual owner, so he can un-register it from his account so I can register it onto mine? Does that even work that way anymore?

2) If I were to say, buy a factory unlocked iPhone that was purchased outright, could it be blacklisted down the road by the original owner, even if I put it under my name?

3) If I cannot do any of the above, is there a limited window where a person can report the phone? Or can they report the phone stolen anytime?


I just want to cover my *** since it seems the national blacklist doesn't really give a long term outlook on the status of the IMEI. If it's not worth the risk, I'll just keep my current iPhone.

Thanks for any help in advance!
28 replies
Sr. Member
Aug 29, 2004
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Honestly dude, its not worth it to save a few bucks. I would just suck it up and go to the store
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Jan 27, 2006
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1. There's no way of knowing. Also, either the seller will refuse or the carrier. My boy tried it with Rogers, they made him go back-and-forth dealing over the phone or in-store.

Scumbags are banking on this BS blacklist system.

2. Original seller has the control/power. Even if it's sealed and/or with receipt.

3. I've read stories where they report it after 6-7 months.

I contacted protectyourdata.ca and was told majority of reports are being claimed as LOST not stolen, so the whole idea of fiing a police report is out the window. There's just no way around it, not worth risking over $200.

One of my boys back in November just bought himself a SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 TABLET. I love how he was so proud of paying only $450 for it too. LOL
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Sr. Member
Jan 20, 2012
559 posts
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LONDON
bembol wrote: 1. There's no way of knowing. Also, either the seller will refuse or the carrier. My boy tried it with Rogers, they made him go back-and-forth dealing over the phone or in-store.

Scumbags are banking on this BS blacklist system.

2. Original seller has the control/power. Even if it's sealed and/or with receipt.

3. I've read stories where they report it after 6-7 months.

I contacted protectyourdata.ca and was told majority of reports are being claimed as LOST not stolen, so the whole idea of fiing a police report is out the window. There's just no way around it, not worth risking over $200.

One of my boys back in November just bought himself a SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 TABLET. I love how he was so proud of paying only $450 for it too. LOL
I used to be a person who bought phones off kijiji all the time. I didn't learn of the blacklist until I first got screwed over with the Nexus 4. My first thought was maybe I had a defective phone, and then I learned about the blacklist when I did research. The Nexus 4 came with the box and everything, so needless to say, it was probably reported "lost" for insurance purposes. Makes sense when you say most people report their phones lost.

The fact that it can still be reported months later, that stinks big time, especially for anyone still buying used. Easy insurance fraud right there if you ask me...

Anyways, I found out my cousin was selling her iPhone 6 yesterday at Christmas Dinner, so I bought hers for a decent price ($550, and it has AppleCare+), because she doesn't like the size of it and went back to her 5S. I'm very close to her, and she's the original owner, so I can definitely trust her. But after reading your post, that basically scared me from buying from Kijiji ever again (at least for phones).

But the next question would be, I have my 5S to sell now. How do I show a potential buyer that I am not going to screw them over? I have the box and everything, including the receipt, and I am the original owner. I would never report it, because I'm not like that, but the buyer doesn't know that unfortunately :/...
Sr. Member
Aug 25, 2012
947 posts
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Toronto
kellmike626 wrote: But the next question would be, I have my 5S to sell now. How do I show a potential buyer that I am not going to screw them over? I have the box and everything, including the receipt, and I am the original owner. I would never report it, because I'm not like that, but the buyer doesn't know that unfortunately :/...
Sell it here. Apparently, there's less scumbags here than Kijiji.
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Aug 3, 2014
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kellmike626 wrote: But the next question would be, I have my 5S to sell now. How do I show a potential buyer that I am not going to screw them over? I have the box and everything, including the receipt, and I am the original owner. I would never report it, because I'm not like that, but the buyer doesn't know that unfortunately :/...
I've sold two phones since this blacklist stuff started. One buyer didn't even ask about blacklisting, so I sold the phone without saying a single word about it. The other buyer wanted to go to my provider's store, so we went there and asked the rep to check if my account still has the phone registered. She said no, and the guy asked me why I was selling it, if I was really legit etc and bought the phone. But what he didn't know was that the phone was registered on at least 2 of my other lines. So I could still report it stolen/lost, but I didn't. Plus, anyone who knows the IMEI number and has a Koodo/TELUS account can blacklist ANY device. Would the real owner be able to get it un-blacklisted easily? I don't know. (PM me if anybody wants to try it) If your buyer knows all this stuff, you can't prove that you won't do it.
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Jun 9, 2012
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hvwozq wrote: I've sold two phones since this blacklist stuff started. One buyer didn't even ask about blacklisting, so I sold the phone without saying a single word about it. The other buyer wanted to go to my provider's store, so we went there and asked the rep to check if my account still has the phone registered. She said no, and the guy asked me why I was selling it, if I was really legit etc and bought the phone. But what he didn't know was that the phone was registered on at least 2 of my other lines. So I could still report it stolen/lost, but I didn't. Plus, anyone who knows the IMEI number and has a Koodo/TELUS account can blacklist ANY device. Would the real owner be able to get it un-blacklisted easily? I don't know. (PM me if anybody wants to try it) If your buyer knows all this stuff, you can't prove that you won't do it.
How is that possible if imei # doesn't belong to your account?
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Apr 26, 2006
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People are doing this left right and centre. Many(especially Iphone 6 or 6+) sell on kijiji and report the phone lost the next day to claim insurance. I know 3 people who bought off Kijiji and got burned are now selling the same black listed phone on kijiji and trying to make someone else pay for their mistake. I can understand the hit is too big to take alone.... how do you justify a $600 hit like that but at the same time you are trying to create more victims. when a Iphone shows up on kijiji for a good price...they are cheap for a reason...and is usually the seller trying to dump or plan to do insurance fraud.
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Jan 27, 2006
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That's what scary about this, it's not about insurance fraud - making money and getting a replacement. The seller can just be an *** hole and report it because they can.

One buyer who works for Bell, ask me what if I stop paying my bill since I recently upgraded. I forgot the carriers can also blacklist for unpaid balance, I simply told him you just have to trust me.
"I'll put up color bars before I'll put you in front of our cameras."

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Deal Addict
Jan 28, 2008
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What is this insurance thing on phones??

It's getting way to complicated for phones - kinda miss 3 year terms and cheap upgrades with solid retention plans.
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Apr 26, 2006
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Swarez99 wrote: What is this insurance thing on phones??

It's getting way to complicated for phones - kinda miss 3 year terms and cheap upgrades with solid retention plans.
You pay alittle more every month for insurance, if you lost your phone they will replace it for free. To some people this is like free money. (the person sells the original phone on Kijiji then report lost to the provider and get a replacement for free on insurance, but now who ever bought it from the person is now in possession of a blacklisted phone)
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Aug 3, 2014
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AndroidRootGuy wrote: How is that possible if imei # doesn't belong to your account?
The only thing you need is a new SIM card to make an IMEI "belong to your account" if you have a Koodo&TELUS account.
Deal Addict
Feb 1, 2008
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Meet outside a Telus store and buy/sell it there. Take it inside and have a rep verify if its stolen/clean.
Source: I work at Telus, do it every now and then for people.
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May 8, 2009
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cruisx wrote: Meet outside a Telus store and buy/sell it there. Take it inside and have a rep verify if its stolen/clean.
Source: I work at Telus, do it every now and then for people.
That does not work. It doesn't matter if the at that current time if the phone is blacklisted or not.. It's after when the seller reports it stolen then it gets blacklisted afterwards when the transaction was long finished.

There's really no safe route other then buying it retail and paying a bit extra knowing for a fact that your phone will not be blacklisted. I'd personally only buy phones off well-known RFD members with a lot of RFD BST Feedback otherwise i wouldn't bother.
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Feb 1, 2008
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Jimboski wrote: That does not work. It doesn't matter if the at that current time if the phone is blacklisted or not.. It's after when the seller reports it stolen then it gets blacklisted afterwards when the transaction was long finished.

There's really no safe route other then buying it retail and paying a bit extra knowing for a fact that your phone will not be blacklisted. I'd personally only buy phones off well-known RFD members with a lot of RFD BST Feedback otherwise i wouldn't bother.
Ah yes you are right, sorry did not read the OP. If it is blacklisted you are doomed op =( they only way a blacklisted phone gets removed is if it is returned to the carrier it belonged to, they can return it to the original owner. But ovb at this point you would have lost your cash and be pretty annoyed.
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cruisx wrote: Ah yes you are right, sorry did not read the OP.
I hear if you get the seller to call into his wireless carrier and request to remove the IMEI # from his account then have it transferred to your account under your name is where it "might" not be blacklist-able afterwards.
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Feb 1, 2008
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Jimboski wrote: I hear if you get the seller to call into his wireless carrier and request to remove the IMEI # from his account then have it transferred to your account under your name is where it "might" not be blacklist-able afterwards.
Hmm I should find the answer to this. However we can see all IMEIs attached to a customers account even if it has been removed (history) so I am not sure if this would work 100%
For example if a customer upgrades to a new phone and comes in a year later with an old Telus phone that was on their account and wants it unlocked, we can go back and get the IMIE.
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cruisx wrote: Hmm I should find the answer to this. However we can see all IMEIs attached to a customers account even if it has been removed (history) so I am not sure if this would work 100%
For example if a customer upgrades to a new phone and comes in a year later with an old Telus phone that was on their account and wants it unlocked, we can go back and get the IMIE.
I don't think that would matter. It's just the concept of the seller of the phone calling in to personally remove the IMEI # from his account to put it under someone else account basically giving them responsibility and possession of the phone's IMEI #. The IMEI history won't matter i don't think since the owner requested to remove the phone/IMEI # off their account for a reason, that reason would be to transfer responsibility to someone else.

Like i said, not too sure if this works but if you can confirm that would be great.
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Aug 30, 2014
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You can call the apple after-sales,and tell them your Phone id,or you can provethrough the Internet.

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