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Phone(s):
1: Nokia 6610, Nokia 3650
2: Nokia 6590, Nokia 8390
3: Nokia 6101
Provider(s):
T-Mobile
Joined: Nov 2002
From: US
Posts: 645
How do you know if a phone you've purchased from someone is stolen or not?
I was wondering in anyone knew of a way to find out if a phone you buy from someone is stolen, or not, without getting accused of having stolen it yourself. I'm buying a phone from someone and they say it's legit, but I'm still wondering. Is there a way to find this out? Can I just take it to my service provider and they can tell me if it's been reported as fishy? Thanks.
Phone(s):
1: Treo Pro for phone/PDA
2: BlackBerry 8350i for DC/Mobile Email/IM
3: Motorola Renegade V950 for actual Work phone
Provider(s):
Personal = SprintPCS & Nextel --- Work = Sprint..
Joined: Nov 2002
From: The Digital World
Posts: 4,211
Re: How do you know if a phone you've purchased from someone is stolen or not?
Quote:
Originally posted by Rashiki I was wondering in anyone knew of a way to find out if a phone you buy from someone is stolen, or not, without getting accused of having stolen it yourself. I'm buying a phone from someone and they say it's legit, but I'm still wondering. Is there a way to find this out? Can I just take it to my service provider and they can tell me if it's been reported as fishy? Thanks.
Call the provider from the phone and ask them if it was reported stolen. Most of the time they can read your IMEI over the air, if not you'll have to read it to them. Most carrier use the standard "611 [send]" or "*611 [send]" to get to customer service (of the carrier that the phone is "attached" to.
If you don't have the phone in front of you to do this test, you will need to get the IMEI from the seller. Hopefully they give you the real IMEI of the phone you're buying.
Phone(s):
1: Nokia 6610, Nokia 3650
2: Nokia 6590, Nokia 8390
3: Nokia 6101
Provider(s):
T-Mobile
Joined: Nov 2002
From: US
Posts: 645
Re: Re: How do you know if a phone you've purchased from someone is stolen or not?
Quote:
Originally posted by DigitalJEM Call the provider from the phone and ask them if it was reported stolen. Most of the time they can read your IMEI over the air, if not you'll have to read it to them. Most carrier use the standard "611 [send]" or "*611 [send]" to get to customer service (of the carrier that the phone is "attached" to.
If you don't have the phone in front of you to do this test, you will need to get the IMEI from the seller. Hopefully they give you the real IMEI of the phone you're buying.
Thanks. I think everything will be fine, but I just wanted to check because I was reading that I'm the one who gets busted if I wind up using a hot phone. And do you know how to check the phone's IMEI via the software? I found it in one of the threads that said to put in the code *#92702689# and that would give you the IMEI, in case the label on the back had been changed, or something like that. Do you know if this code is correct? Thanks.
Phone(s):
1: Nokia 5310 w/Jabra BT250V handsfree, Nokia 6010, Nokia 6030
2: Nokia 6310i, Nokia 8310 (Europe)
3:
Provider(s):
T-Mobile US, Fido, T-Mobile NL, Orange IL
Joined: Jul 2001
From: Seattle, Washington USA
Posts: 14,068
Quote:
Originally posted by prrsnikety Serial number = IMEI ?
International Mobile Equipment Identity
From webopedia:
Short for International Mobile Equipment Identity, a unique number given to every single mobile phone, typically found behind the battery.
IMEI numbers of cellular phones connected to a GSM network are stored in a database (EIR - Equipment Identity Register) containing all valid mobile phone equipment.
When a phone is reported stolen or is not type approved, the number is marked invalid.
The number consists of four groups that looks this:
nnnnnn--nn-nnnnnn-n
The first set of numbers is the type approval code (TAC). The first two digits represent the country code. The rest make up the final assembly code. The second group of numbers identifies the manufacturer:
01 and 02 = AEG
07 and 40 = Motorola
10 and 20 = Nokia
41and 44 = Siemens
51= Sony, Siemens, Ericsson
The third set is the serial number and the last single digit is an additional number (usually 0
Google is your friend!
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Phone(s):
1: T-Mobile MDA II w/Plantronics M3000 (Primary)
2: Motorola E770V (locked to Vodafone Germany)
3:
Provider(s):
E-Plus (DE) Vodafone UK Vodafone Germany
Joined: Jan 2003
From: Köln, Germany/Redwood City, CA
Posts: 15,321
No the IMEI and the serial numbers are two different things. The IMEI is found by entering *#06# and pushing Send (most of the time also found in the battery compartment on the Nokia label). The serial number is printed on the Nokia label in the compartment as well (unless I am mistaken since it's still early in the morning).
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Born/Raised: Redwood City, CA, USA
Live in: Cologne, Germany (May 2004)
German (Fluent) and English (Fluent)
Phone(s):
1: Nokia 5310 w/Jabra BT250V handsfree, Nokia 6010, Nokia 6030
2: Nokia 6310i, Nokia 8310 (Europe)
3:
Provider(s):
T-Mobile US, Fido, T-Mobile NL, Orange IL
Joined: Jul 2001
From: Seattle, Washington USA
Posts: 14,068
Quote:
Originally posted by TriBand81 No the IMEI and the serial numbers are two different things. The IMEI is found by entering *#06# and pushing Send (most of the time also found in the battery compartment on the Nokia label). The serial number is printed on the Nokia label in the compartment as well (unless I am mistaken since it's still early in the morning).
IMEI and serial number are the same thing. If you key *#06# it should be the same number as on the sticker underneath your battery.
The equivalent on TDMA and CDMA handsets is the ESN (electronic serial number) though I don't know if there are keystrokes that will reveal the number.
Phone(s):
1: T-Mobile MDA II w/Plantronics M3000 (Primary)
2: Motorola E770V (locked to Vodafone Germany)
3:
Provider(s):
E-Plus (DE) Vodafone UK Vodafone Germany
Joined: Jan 2003
From: Köln, Germany/Redwood City, CA
Posts: 15,321
Quote:
Originally posted by littlefuzzbear IMEI and serial number are the same thing. If you key *#06# it should be the same number as on the sticker underneath your battery.
The equivalent on TDMA and CDMA handsets is the ESN (electronic serial number) though I don't know if there are keystrokes that will reveal the number.
Phone(s):
1: T-Mobile MDA II w/Plantronics M3000 (Primary)
2: Motorola E770V (locked to Vodafone Germany)
3:
Provider(s):
E-Plus (DE) Vodafone UK Vodafone Germany
Joined: Jan 2003
From: Köln, Germany/Redwood City, CA
Posts: 15,321
Quote:
Originally posted by prrsnikety All i know is on my 7210 if i press *#06# it reveals:
"Serial Key ************" Numbers w/ no dashes. This is the IMEI right?
Hmm.. I had a phone stolen a while back... a GSM phone. Can a carrier block the IMEI on it or am I out of luck (as I think) since you need only a SIM card to make it work, not a valid IMEI. Just wondering since the topic came up. I only had the phone a couple days and would love to stop anyone from using it. (though this happened a couple months ago)
Phone(s):
1: Nokia 6610, Nokia 3650
2: Nokia 6590, Nokia 8390
3: Nokia 6101
Provider(s):
T-Mobile
Joined: Nov 2002
From: US
Posts: 645
I've seen some posts that say that some providers are able to block a phone by its IMEI number and other posters say that it isn't possible. Sounded like it was a provider dependent (or willingness) thing.
Phone(s):
1: Apple iPhone (MA712LL v1.1.4 (4A102))
2: Nokia N73 ME (v4.0726.2.0.1 26-06-2007 RM-133 [10])
3: Nokia 6270 (v3.53_RM-56_15-11-05)
Provider(s):
Cingular, AT&T, or whatever they want to call themselves now...
Joined: Jul 2001
From: Bay Area, California
Posts: 1,393
A long time ago, I had a friend who sold a stolen GSM phone to someone and that someone got caught for using a stolen phone...no, he didn't get arrested, but he got charged for the phone, full sticker.
But these days, I doubt the carriers would even go through the trouble of setting up a system to refuse service to stolen phones...
Quote:
Originally posted by Rashiki I've seen some posts that say that some providers are able to block a phone by its IMEI number and other posters say that it isn't possible. Sounded like it was a provider dependent (or willingness) thing.
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06-23-2003, 21:56
How do you know if a phone you've purchased from someone is stolen or not?
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