yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] belly1026:
T-Mobile's retail price for the 16GB S3 is $630.00 and you have to pay tax on top of that.

For me (tax rate of 8.25%), that's approximately $680. If I didn't opt to renew my contract, I would have purchased my phone off of craigslist also.

However, I think it's a known issue that these days there are plenty of sellers on CL who purchased their phones from T-Mobile along with insurance.

They then proceed to sell their phones on Craigslist and wait out a couple of weeks to a month before reporting their phones stolen and getting insurance replacement.

Also, I think T-Mobile will only block the IMEI if and only if insurance were purchased. No insurance = no blocked IMEI.

This is an assumption from the fact that my phones were stolen from UPS on the way to my place (someone who somehow got a hold of my tracking number walked up to the UPS guy and claimed the package. And the UPS driver was dumb enough to hand her the package without checking for ID) and when I called T-Mobile asking them to block the IMEI of the phones that were stolen, they refused to do so claiming that they had no way of doing it. Of course I didn't have insurance and T-Mobile ended up sending me new phones anyway. However, I know for a fact that if you claim insurance, the stolen phone's IMEI will be blocked; just like the OP's case.

To the OP: Sorry to say this, but you got scammed. Your money is gone and you're not getting it back. If you choose to purchase another phone from CL again, ALWAYS ask for an ID for proof. I've purchased plenty of phones on CL and I have yet (knock on wood) to run into this scam.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Simba501:
eBay! At least there is both an official track record and a form of protection via eBay and PayPal.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] ElBeaner:
DO NOT GO TO THE POLICE!!!!!

No matter what you guys think, if he does HE CAN BE CHARGED WITH RECEIVING STOLEN PROPERTY at this point

Reason is, as soon as TMobile told you it was stolen property, you had an obligation to return said property to its rightful owner. Since you are attempting to keep the phone and still utilize it, you are attempting to deprive the rightful owner of their interest in the property. So you might as well go for broke and keep the phone and utlize with AT&T(you only option).

I would SERIOUSLY discourage against reselling the phone because at that point you are selling stolen property(which is a worse offense than receiving stolen property)

------------------------

I speak from experience, similar situation happened to me. I bought an iPhone 4 off CL. Had it perfectly fine for about 7 months, then home button started acting up. Decided to head to the Apple store since it was still under warranty. Was informed at Apple that they couldn't do any work as phone was reported as stolen. After much deliberation with myself, I opted to keep the phone until my contract was up for renewal with ATT and get a new phone and then at that point I attempted to reunite the phone with the owner. BAM, got hit with receiving stolen property charge(misdomeanor). I explained my situation to the Judge, he understood, but said law is law. He did cut me a break and I was able to do differed adjudication. 1 year later, charge is not on my record, but still I was out $500 for an attorney.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Bizdady:
Can you unlock it and go to Straight Talk ATT? Might have to cancel your contract but it should even about if you save money on your plan?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] HHF2:
I would go the Police route. Even if you get it working on a different carrier, after they unify their databases it will quit working again and will be to late to go after the other party.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] ickster:
huh? You start off warning him then tell him go for it.......

I agree totally with pigvomit.....

"The blocking of stolen IMEIs is a GREAT thing. This should go a long way in reducing the amount of cell phone theft. NEVER buy a phone a third party without verifying their identity. Look at their driver license, get an address, write down their name, get a license plate number. If they don't want you to have any of these things, be suspicious. If the price is too good to be true, be suspicious. All US carriers will be part of this soon. Shouldn't matter if you unlock your phone and go to another carrier, there will be a master database.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/09/u...-and-blacklist

To repeat.....this is a GREAT thing. Buyer beware. "

People are getting hurt and terrorized for these phones. The sooner they make them worthless after they are stolen the better IMO. The OP should go to the Police and report it. It's his only option.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] bassett:
In post #7, the OP said he was told by Tmobile that it was stolen by a store employee. So...T-mobile would be the "rightful owner," yet they won't take it back. How can he be charged when the rightful owner has declared it does not want it?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] malik478:
I told t-mobile yesterday that im willing to return the phone to you..they said NO!! I told them how do i know it was stolen?? I bought it sealed brand new from the craigslist guy. It was working straight for 3 weeks or so. They still did not budged. What are my options now? Any suggestions??
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] keekah:
I guess since tmobile doesn't want it, I'd sell it as a "galaxy player" of sorts and cut your losses. It can still be used over wifi. It'd be like using an iphone with a bad esn for an ipod. Just be upfront about the facts and let the buyer know that it will NOT be able to be activated on tmobile.

Or if it CAN be used with another provider then you may want to go that route if you really want to use the phone and not be out all that money.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] rail205:
What if you keep flashing stuff until you get the generic imei. My i9000 had generic imei and worked for 2 years no problem. At least on Fido I had no issues. Just a last effort thought.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Simba501:
Dependent upon whether T-Mobile blocks it or not. Some carriers block the generic IMEI.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] jrbaker624:
I guess you can now say you own an iPod killer
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] mylasthope:
Does anyone know what would happen if he had made his purchase on ebay and was outside of eBay's 45 day buyer protection? I usually buy used Verizon phones without anything bad happening, but I may get a tmobile one and this sounds crazy.

Ps sorry about getting scammed.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] gunnyman:
Seems to me you have another option. Tmobile should be interested in prosecution of the thief. That's something the OP should be willing to do and maybe Tmobile would be interested in making the OP whole for his trouble. Perhaps contacting the local tv news. I know where I live there's a consumer watchdog reporter who does stories like this. Tmobile not wanting the stolen property doesn't sound right to me.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] calceltic:
when you activate a phone, don't you need to tell them your imei? i don't understand how it worked for weeks without the carrier knowing your imei.

and once you tell them your imei, doesn't it become yours if it's not red flagged at that time? i don't get it...
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] osugsxr:
Can you just do a third party unlock site? Sell as unlocked phone for another carrier, usually won't show on another carrier. Correct me if I'm wrong, have been thorough probably 30 plus phones past few years, unlocking TMobile & att to use on local carrier
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] ero-sennin0214:
You do not need to tell them your imei...

I had bought a phone from eBay and had an account with T-Mobile... I just hat to switch the simcard to the new phone... they never noticed it. At least they never called me to ask for my imei
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] ero-sennin0214:
It all depends on the seller... I had bought stuff from eBay for costumers and had returned a few of them even after time of return policy... Also if you get scammed through eBay, eBay will most likely track the seller and give your money back..
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Pig Vomit:
The blacklist is new as of this month.

All cell phone carriers, contrary to recent media reports, are notoriously difficult for the police to obtain information from. Your phone gets stolen, the bad guy makes a bunch of calls on it, you report the stolen phone (and related charges for calls you didn't make) to your carrier who deactivates the phone and writes off the account. You report it to the police, the police take the report, the police call the cell phone company for records relating to the fraudulent calls because it's your only chance of tracking down the thief......and the carrier insists on a search warrant. Won't even allow you to send them written consent from the true owner, because it might be an invasion of privacy to give you the record of calls made by the thief who stole your phone. The only quick way to get the call records is if the customer goes online *before* reporting it to the carrier and prints out the call log. I know this sounds absurd.....but it's absolutely true. Search warrants take a lot of time (several hours) in states where police officers don't have subpoena power. As such, most stolen cell phone reports don't get investigated.

Also....it's VERY rare for the victim to actually be able to provide their IMEI.

On a case I worked just this week.....someone went to an ATT store and fraudulently opened up a business account in the name and Tax-ID of a local business and obtained five phones. I call ATT, I got lucky because I reached someone who was willing to at least tell me which store the account was opened at (a nearby city)----their policy is not to tell me that. Wouldn't confirm make, model, serial number of phones so I can enter them into the nationwide stolen property system. I called the store the account was opened at, and I'm trying to convince the store manager to give me video of the suspect. It might happen, but if he checks with corporate, it won't because it's against policy. I think the victim business might be able to recognize the suspect (ex or current employee)....it's my only hope of solving the case. Bottom line, ATT (and all carriers) just don't give a **** because they're raking in the money anyway.

"Pig" is not just a nickname....it's a profession.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] george241312:
Got mine off cl too payed 500 he needed cash for an iphone poor fool .... if i do get blocked i still know where he lives
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] george241312:
Plus i work in a cell phone shop that has the box yo change imei on the s3 so i can just do that....
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] WilliamKingX17:
The reason why you were able to use it for a few weeks is it probably went unnoticed that it was missing for that time. I work for Best Buy Mobile and when we get large shipments of phones in you may not go through them all at once. They either noticed it when they were running low on inventory and noticed they were a phone short or when they did their monthly physical inventory. When you bought the phone from the thief he must have just stolen the phone within a day or two of you buying it. If it were me I would contact my local news station and give them the story. Media works, and it works quickly. A news station will be able to pressure T-Mobile into a tough spot if it means bad press. Good luck on finding a solution.

Sent From My Magical Unicorn S3
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] NewKlNGjames:
You don't need to tell them your imei. The system will pick it up within 72 hours. Talked to countless people that were shocked that I could see that they were using an iPhone. Just because tmo doesn't care doesn't mean that they can't see it. On a previous note, but just blocked for insurance. Well also be blocked for fraud and first payment default (setting up account with free phone, selling phone and never paying you Bill and letting it get turned off and go to collections... usually under someone else's name) I feel sorry for the op. But craigslist is buyer beware. You are depending on the seller to be honest which sometimes isn't the case.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] sanchitgrover:
Sent u a pm .. Kindly see .. It might help?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] chrischoi:
100% correct. Sometimes it takes less. Sometimes you can force it onto the account. It's not required, but the system does pick it up.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] NardVa:
Tough break for OP. The only thing you can do at this point is unlock the phone to use on another carrier that is not Tmobile. Sell the phone on Craiglist or Ebay and just mention the phone can not be used on Tmobile.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] neh4pres:
This is what i think happened.

The guy who sold you the phone is a scammer. He wrote down the imei. He sold you the phone. He then claimed it lost or stolen. He paid insurance deductible and got his new phone in the mail. And now your phone is blacklisted.

Everyone needs to take note of this.

I tried to sell a BlackBerry on Craig's list years ago. Everyone and their mother was trying to get the imei "to check it was good". Never give it out. What happens is they do a fake activation on YOUR phone. Put insurance on it, and claim theft. Your phone is now blacklisted and they get one in the mail. The system is bull$hit and it works for thieves.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] jgalan14:
Well asurion now needs you to make a phone call with the phone to verify is in your account, now you have up to 30 days to report lost or stolen which is ridiculous and stupid who wouldn't notice they phone dissaper of course unless you went out of town, I went to Mexico last month and lost my one s, I hadn't make any phone calls so I couldn't get it replace :(
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] dullhunk:
Sad to hear about it..
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] sanchitgrover:
replied to the pm .. kindly see..
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] ariel123:
your only option right now is unlock it, root it, flash another rom to get rid of the tmobile start screen and buy an att back cover.then you can sell it as an att version of the s3 only rooted to a different rom. thats the only thing that will get you your full money back. unless you sell it to a phone shop for parts but you would only get 250 for it. well atleast thats what i got for a verison iphone i found.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Simba501:
That's misleading, and just as bad as what the seller did to him.

Sent from my HTC Inspire
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] ariel123:
not as bad because atleast the person he sells it too will be able to use the phone just not on 4g/lte. better then being locked out of the phone and he gets his money back :laugh:
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] droidemere:
So is buying it from eBay safer?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] jgalan14:
Yes it is to some point buy at your own risk, I trust swappa.com better never had problems
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] george241312:
Hahaha "face palm"....
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] leesanhua:
is there anywhere to make sure the IMEI will not get block in the future? Call the customer service to verify?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] KillaHurtz:
Yes, always verify the IMEI and have it registered to your acct. That way the party is cleared of any suspicions and cannot report the device stolen, because it is registered to you.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] leesanhua:
How do I get the IMEI register under my account?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] jellydroid13:
Wow sucks to be the OP. the only 3rd party places I buy phones from are ebay. I just bought an S3 there that's coming today and I have never had an IMEI problem with them. I have bought the majority of my phones there and you typically have 14 days to return or exchange it if something goes wrong.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] arctic84:
I basically am in the same boat as you. I bought it used for less (i'm on contract still) and the person who sold it to me reported it lost the day after.

BASICALLY for TMOBILE you're SOL.

HOWEVER, it can be unlocked still and you can use it on other networks like AT&T (All you need to change is the APN settings).

You can make calls and 3G will work fine (with atnt at least). No luck with 4g though since it uses different bands.

Asurion and t-mobile really ought to do something about the people doing this, they're committing insurance fraud and seem to be getting away with it. I tried contacting them but the employees don't even care to try to help.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] dcmtnbkr:
This is just a theory, but it may work. IDK. Perhaps this would be considered against XDA terms, if so, delete the post. But here goes.

Havent we recently come across a way to restore bad imei numbers? What if you were to purchase an old outdated android phone for cheap from ebay or craigslist, take the imei number from it and load it on the GS3. It would be similar to changing the esn on sprint phones, which i know is possible. Again, not sure if it would work, but might be worth looking into. Dont use a dumb phone though, as I think data is different for those phones.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] avataranjie:
Flash random **** and lose your imei. Then do what he said or just get another phone and restore a different imei
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] jgalan14:
That's against the law
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] dcmtnbkr:
This may be, I'm honestly not sure. Can you please post the law that this breaks?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] avataranjie:
While his possession of this device is a law. He already paid for it so what. Its his device. The law is full of bull****.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] the-Mike_D:
That's crazy but thanks for sharing.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] kooltrini1:
IME tool

Try this:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1804123
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] leesanhua:
Do you know how can we register the IMEI to our account so that the seller won't be able to claim the insurance?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] erikiksaz:
Same question.

The only other solution I've thought of is actually having the buyer call into 611 to cancel their insurance during the purchase. And at that time might as well have them verify that they're not on the payment plan (EIP).

But I don't know how hesitant most sellers would be. I would do it for a buyer if they were nervous because I know that I won't be able to do any damage by just calling into 611 to cancel insurance/verify EIP. Newb sellers might think you're trying to hijack their account or some other stupid **** :p
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] dcmtnbkr:
This is the tool i was alluding to. I honestly think this might work.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] nygmam:
So you post on a thread about receiving stolen property, then think using it yourself, or selling stolen property, and this discussion continues, even after someone warned you about the situation you are in.

First mistake was to post this on line in a public forum, and openly discuss breaking the law.

You need to get back in touch with t-mobile, and escalate it to a manager, or above. You need a resolution, either they take it back, you get to buy it from them, or they agree in writing to allow you to keep it.

If you know any lawyers or law enforcement officers, you may want to talk privately to them for their advice. A little good advice now, will go along way later, if anything should happen.

Remember, right now you are in possession of stolen property, you know it, t-mobile knows it, and who knows who else at this point. I don't mean to scare you, but even if you think you did nothing wrong, and didn't do it intentionally, you now know it is wrong, and the property isn't yours. If you can't return it, when asked (if anything should happen) additional charges may result.

Do yourself a big favor, and get some free advice, and try to get the phone back to t-mobile. I would also delete this post. Nothing good can come from it now.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] ickster:
What th......................................never mind, not worth my time....sad.

Edit-sorry,I could not resist editing his post. Mods can you please close this thread like the recent similar found phone thread? Seeing the level of dishonesty that prevails just depresses me.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] ipaq_101:
I guess the moral of the story is that if you can't afford to buy the phone at the real cost then don't.

Trying to save $50 or $100 here and there is quite useless when your total loss can be $525.

If you had just called t-mobile and said you want to pay the early contract termination fee and go to another carrier, they would have just offered you the SGS3 for the fully upgrade price of about $250 to keep you as a customer, even if that meant being a customer with them for another 2 years.

And guess what, after your upgrade you still call and pay the early termination fee in a few months. You still would have only paid about $450. At least it would have all been through T-Mobile and by their rules.

It is unfortunate that some people get into transactions without thinking of the full repercussions.

I have never used Craigslist and never will, just browsing some of those ads you can see how many are scams right off the bat.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] JUSMEJOSE:
That suxs im able to help you ...
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] htc fan89:
Or when buying have them sign off on an invoice that says they have official sold it to you. Not all deals go like that there are some bad apples. Also not everyone can afford full retail price.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] tritran18518:
Will they do anything if you have the seller's phone number ?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] dawgboy1783:
Dude I'd take it to a t-mobile store and talk to a manager tell them your story there may be a chance things may work in your favor maybe they will offer you a replacement phone and if your a current customer and still under contract they may offer you a new s3 at half price plus a $200 migration fee for your honesty that's roughly what you paid but you won't have to pay it all up front the 200 migration fee would be on your bill and you may have to pay some or all the half price up front it's up to them but if it did go that way you would end up with a legit s3 and feel good about your honesty you'd be out some money but you'd have a new legit s3 and wouldn't be in any trouble for receiving stolen property I wouldn't wait too long because t-mobile knows you have it and they know you didn't buy it from them and they know you didn't report it stolen someone else did and you could possibly get a letter from them threatening prosecution even though they wouldn't accept it because you probably talked to a plain sales rep on the phone who didn't care and not someone of higher power honesty is always the best policy the risk would cost you way more money in the longrun just do it be done with it I believe it will work in your favor my friend good luck and Godspeed.

P.S. don't forget to tell them his phone # so they can reverse phone # look him up hopefully his crooked arse will get a letter from tmo. :D

---------- Post added at 01:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:29 PM ----------

Oh you could also go to the police first and tell them what happened and tell them you want to return it to a local store and ask them to go with you this will keep you safe on both ends but please don't forget to give them the crooks phone # too and print and take a copy of the craigslist add with you, :D you'll win in the end bro I believe it!.

Good luck.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] ionic7:
Disregard what he said about asking an LEO for legal advice... that is by far the worst idea ever, LEO are trained to uphold the law not interpret it, talk to a lawyer if you can but i would never in a million years take legal advice from a cop and a few of my good friends are on my towns police force