Cell Phones

How to prevent yourself from buying a blacklisted phone

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Jul 19, 2005
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How to prevent yourself from buying a blacklisted phone

I recently started this guide below due to the recent experience I've had. I found out a phone was blacklisted from an individual, but yet, he's still selling the phone on Kijiji.

My conscious was bugging me as many people may not know this information below. Everything that I've written so far was done through my own research and experiences. I want to edit this guide here with your help of knowledge/comments. I'm planning and hoping everyone else will post this to Kijiji/Craigslist once it's completed. Buying a blacklisted phone benefits everyone except the poor individual who purchased the phone, at a loss evidently.

Guide to prevent yourself from buying a blacklisted phone

1. Do your research.

As the old saying goes, “If its too good to be true…”. If a brand new unlocked Samsung Galaxy S5 costs $675 retail at amazon/ebay/etc and someone’s selling a locked Samsung Galaxy S5 for $550 and below, there's something fishy going on there. Look at used prices through forums as you'll find a good median what's reasonable compared to checking on kijiji/craigslist.

2. Ask the seller questions.

If the phone is brand new – ask for the carrier details, ownership, receipt, when it was bought, is it sealed.

If the phone is used - Ask who's currently the owner, where and when was the phone bought, carrier details, check imei through PYD.

If the individual is changing their story every time you ask them a question, DO NOT BUY. A seller should know when, where and who bought the phone, is it registered under a carrier, etc.

3. Rules of thumb

- Just because someone has excellent grammer and is proficient in writing doesn't mean they are a stand up and honest person. Even after checking facebook/linkedin/twitter/etc, you may feel comfortable as their profiles checks out.

- If a phone is a store demo from a carrier, DO NOT BUY. In most cases, store demo's are not to be sold under any circumstances, even if it's bought from a store employee.

- Be cautious of ads where a person says "Used this phone for a week, then switched to an iPhone". This rings alarms and in most cases the seller claimed the phone was lost/stolen through insurance right after purchase to claim the full value.

- Only buy a phone that's under a active account. By purchasing a phone that's not registered under a account, you'll be taking risks which might come with unpleasant rewards.

- If a seller is not willing to meet at the store or carrier where it was purchased from, DO NOT BUY. A seller should be 100% comfortable to walk into a carrier store and say "This is my phone, I'm selling it to Mr/Mrs.X, please transfer the IMEI to him/her". If a seller is not willing to send you the IMEI through email, DO NOT BUY.

Steps when buying a USED phone.

1. Initially ask the seller for the IMEI, check it through http://www.protectyourdata.ca/check-the ... in-canada/ . If the IMEI is blacklisted, DO NOT BUY. If nothing, comes up, PROCEED. Even though a phone is blacklisted, it might take up to 6 months to register on PYD. Follow step 2 to further confirm the IMEI.

2. Tell the seller you want to meet at the carrier store in which it's locked to. Notify the seller you will be performing a factory reset, comparing the IMEI and serial numbers with the box. IMEI's can be faked and a factory reset will remove the fake IMEI. If the seller says no, they don't want to do a factory reset, meet at the carrier store and compare the IMEI and serial numbers, DO NOT BUY. If the seller says yes to all of this, the IMEI and serial number matches the box AFTER performing the factory reset, PROCEED.

3. Ask the carrier sales/csr rep to verify if the seller is the legitimate owner by checking if the IMEI is registered under his/her account. Also ask if the phone has blacklisted for unpaid bills or reported stolen. If something comes up as fradulent, DO NOT BUY. If everything is clean, PROCEED.

4. Ask the carrier rep with the sellers approval to deactivate the IMEI under his/her account. This will further prevent you from being blacklisted in the future as the seller can call in the serial number and IMEI if it's still registered under his/her account by reporting it as stolen. Why would they do this? To claim it on insurance.

5. Once step 5 is completed, insert your SIM, verify the phone is in good working order and proceed with closing the transaction.

ALTERNATIVELY, you can avoid all of this by buying directly from the carrier/manufacturer/store. It's your call.
106 replies
Member
Aug 15, 2012
357 posts
82 upvotes
Mississauga
Nice guide, but even if you take all these steps, the phone can still has the chance of getting blacklisted just months from when you first bought it. There's no guarantee that the person is actually removing the IMEI/phone from their account before selling it via Kijiji. The carrier can't verify it with you either because it's a security breach. Since the national blacklist went up, buying phones from Kijiji/CL has been a real gamble. When it comes to buying used phones, your safest bet is buying from sites like RFD (but even then, it's a lot like Kijiji here and your phone can get blacklisted since no one has to verify their personal details before selling here), Swappa/Orchard and so on. :S
Jr. Member
May 15, 2012
100 posts
23 upvotes
Vancouver
Or..... just buy a phone new, directly from the manufacturer or a trusted retailer.

This is one of the reasons why I never buy on Craigslist/Kijiji/etc. In addition to the lack of warranty and iffy condition.
Deal Addict
Aug 10, 2003
1262 posts
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The IMEI of all zeroes is on the blacklist - however phones with this IMEI work just fine.... likely because there are many phones out there with all zero IMEI's.
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Mar 25, 2003
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For iphones you also have to check and make sure the previous owner, have signed out of the icloud "find my iphone"
if you don't you will never be able to reset/ refresh your phone
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Mar 5, 2013
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the best way to prevent buying a blacklisted phone is NOT TO BUY A USE PHONE.
Kijiji-Very High Risk
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Mar 23, 2009
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d1ulove3 wrote: the best way to prevent buying a blacklisted phone is NOT TO BUY A USE PHONE.
Kijiji-Very High Risk
I won't buy a used phone off Kijiji but I bought a used iPhone from a brick-and-mortar store that offers a short warranty.
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Nov 10, 2005
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great guide.

i still disagree with the blacklist. yes it's good, but in the end screws over more people than it does help people. that is a fact whether they want to admit to it or not.

we shouldn't be bailing out irresponsible people who lose their phones, but that's just my opinion. it's not done on any other electronic/device, so why should it apply to phones?
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Jul 19, 2005
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sk2003 wrote: Nice guide, but even if you take all these steps, the phone can still has the chance of getting blacklisted just months from when you first bought it. There's no guarantee that the person is actually removing the IMEI/phone from their account before selling it via Kijiji. The carrier can't verify it with you either because it's a security breach. Since the national blacklist went up, buying phones from Kijiji/CL has been a real gamble. When it comes to buying used phones, your safest bet is buying from sites like RFD (but even then, it's a lot like Kijiji here and your phone can get blacklisted since no one has to verify their personal details before selling here), Swappa/Orchard and so on. :S
There's no way for the phone to be blacklisted months after if no one has reported it. There is a guarantee removing the IMEI from someones account if you do it in person with the seller at the carrier store. The carrier can verify the IMEI if the owner is there in person. That's why I mentioned to go to a carrier store to take care of the transaction, everything can be done there. Buying from sites like RFD doesn't matter, it's essentially similar to Kijiji as no personal details are needed. I can register, make 20 posts and start selling phones on here, does that make me a legit person?. Just something to think about.
Keigotw wrote: For iphones you also have to check and make sure the previous owner, have signed out of the icloud "find my iphone"
if you don't you will never be able to reset/ refresh your phone
Thanks, this will be added to the guide.
Moderator
Sep 27, 2003
11122 posts
3367 upvotes
Newmarket
I disagree with "If a seller is not willing to send you the IMEI through email, DO NOT BUY".
I'm not providing sensitive information like that until I'm in person with the buyer, at which point I am happy to check PYD, etc.. with them to verify integrity of the IMEI.
RFD Forums Moderator
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Sep 27, 2003
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The best way to not get screwed is to simply not buy second-hand.
Even the most legitimate of sellers may not have done their own due diligence when buying their phone which in turn then gets resold on Kijiji.
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Jan 27, 2006
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This has been discussed to death, appreciate the guide but at the end it's boils down to luck IMO.

Also, is it really worth the risk to save what, $100?
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Nov 19, 2004
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Only sure fire way of getting a clean phone is going directly to the carrier or a reputable retailer (walmart, bestbuy, wireless wave etc)

You can take all the precautions in the world, there's nothing that prevents the seller to screw you over after the transaction. Absolutely NOTHING!
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Jun 12, 2007
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shadow_cruiser wrote: There's no way for the phone to be blacklisted months after if no one has reported it...
I thought the issues here is for phones stolen from store/carrier stock, the theft might not be discovered for while until a physical/manual inventory is done. Once discovered, the carrier blacklists the phone.
Member
Aug 21, 2011
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aingaran wrote: Only sure fire way of getting a clean phone is going directly to the carrier or a reputable retailer (walmart, bestbuy, wireless wave etc)

You can take all the precautions in the world, there's nothing that prevents the seller to screw you over after the transaction. Absolutely NOTHING!
Doesn't meeting them at the carrier and having the IMEI number removed from their account prevent them from screwing you over? How else would they be able to report the phone lost/stolen if that IMEI isn't associated with their account.
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11thWarrior wrote: Doesn't meeting them at the carrier and having the IMEI number removed from their account prevent them from screwing you over? How else would they be able to report the phone lost/stolen if that IMEI isn't associated with their account.
No, it doesn't. There's no way to officially "transfer" your IMEI from 1 user to another.

Here's a scenario. I sell you my phone, and we have a legal, binding contract that was notarized by a lawyer in front of a judge. You have the original legal documents.

I call my carrier tomorrow and report my phone stolen. The customer service rep will look at the account and see that the IMEI was ORIGINALLY sold to me by the carrier and will blacklisted.

You call into my carrier and speak to a rep stating you have this legal contract. The customer service rep could care less or they have absolutely no authority to validate this document. Your up $hit creek. You may eventually get it unflagged after faxing all these documents and they're able to validate it.. But it may take weeks.

Obviously my scenario is extreme, but in most general scenarios there aren't any agreements and there's absolutely nothing preventing me from reporting my phone lost/stolen after I sell it to someone else. And my original carrier (who sold me the phone) will take my word (based on the fact that they have a record of selling me the IMEI) and will blacklist. IT dosen't matter how big of a crook I am.
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Nov 19, 2004
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That's why it's always best to buy the phone directly from the carrier or a reputable retailer so there's paper training detailing you as the original purchaser of the device.
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Aug 21, 2011
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aingaran wrote: No, it doesn't. There's no way to officially "transfer" your IMEI from 1 user to another.

Here's a scenario. I sell you my phone, and we have a legal, binding contract that was notarized by a lawyer in front of a judge. You have the original legal documents.

I call my carrier tomorrow and report my phone stolen. The customer service rep will look at the account and see that the IMEI was ORIGINALLY sold to me by the carrier and will blacklisted.

You call into my carrier and speak to a rep stating you have this legal contract. The customer service rep could care less or they have absolutely no authority to validate this document. Your up $hit creek. You may eventually get it unflagged after faxing all these documents and they're able to validate it.. But it may take weeks.

Obviously my scenario is extreme, but in most general scenarios there aren't any agreements and there's absolutely nothing preventing me from reporting my phone lost/stolen after I sell it to someone else. And my original carrier (who sold me the phone) will take my word (based on the fact that they have a record of selling me the IMEI) and will blacklist. IT dosen't matter how big of a crook I am.
Nowhere in your scenario did you meet the buyer at the carrier's store to have the IMEI removed from his account.
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I'm not understanding the need to meet at a carrier store. What benefit is this to the buyer? What if you're on Bell and I'm on Rogers? Even if we're with the same carrier what prevents the seller from blacklisting the phone the moment they step out?

Personally I'd never meet at a store, too inconvenient and pointless. I've sold many phones over the years and I've always asked buyers to meet me at my house. It seems to reassure people and it's been a positive experience for all involved (even today when everyone's jumpy).

Expectations that the seller will have boxes and receipts are somewhat unrealistic and will not stop the determined swindler from blacklisting it.

At the end of the day it's a risk and a short leap of faith as it is with most used items. If you're willing to take the risk for some savings take it, if not, buy retail.
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Sep 1, 2011
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Toronto
ichpen wrote: I'm not understanding the need to meet at a carrier store. What benefit is this to the buyer? What if you're on Bell and I'm on Rogers? Even if we're with the same carrier what prevents the seller from blacklisting the phone the moment they step out?

Personally I'd never meet at a store, too inconvenient and pointless. I've sold many phones over the years and I've always asked buyers to meet me at my house. It seems to reassure people and it's been a positive experience for all involved (even today when everyone's jumpy).

Expectations that the seller will have boxes and receipts are somewhat unrealistic and will not stop the determined swindler from blacklisting it.

At the end of the day it's a risk and a short leap of faith as it is with most used items. If you're willing to take the risk for some savings take it, if not, buy retail.
So true. Couldn't agree more! Amen to that!

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