possibly stolen phone

my friend sold me a phone that he said he got from another guy. the phone has some stuff downloaded on to it and my friend thinks that it was downloaded for fun after someone found it.

i tried researching about imei numbers and all that and understand that if they report it stolen it cant be used.. is this possible in the usa also?

if i put my sim card in, will it allow it if its reported stolen? and if it is stolen will they call me up accussing me of theft or something like that?

thanks fot the help

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If the phone was reported stolen and the IMEI number was reported too , the cell phone company might disable the phone. Since you are using the phone , then it was not reported. Or maybe it just wasn't stolen. And they won't find you. The phone will just not work, if it was reported.

Originally Posted by ALEN

If the phone was reported stolen and the IMEI number was reported too , the cell phone company might disable the phone. Since you are using the phone , then it was not reported. Or maybe it just wasn't stolen. And they won't find you. The phone will just not work, if it was reported.

do they have to know the imei number.. or can the company just be like okay we'll block it automatically.

but if it was reported stolen would i be in trouble in anyway at all since i didnt take it and im guessing they cant prove anything right?

if you unlock it and put your simcard in it it should work just fine.(my friend gave me a stolen phone that had the sim blacklisted). got another friend to unlock it and put my sim in worked like a charm till i dropped it in the lake

Relax bud you're too paranoid. The IMEI does not have to be reported, T-Mobile knows the IMEI of any phone you use.

Just go ahead and use it. They're is no proof of you stealing the phone. Now if your conscience won't let you, turn it in to your nearest T-Mobile store. Visit www.t-mobile.com and click on "RETAIL STORE LOCATOR" near the bottom.

Only the yellow squares with the magenta "T" are real T-Mobile stores.

ONE THING I FORGOT TO MENTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If there is an old sim card in there (the original sim card), turn it in wether it's active or not. Take it to your nearest T-Mobile retail store and tell them you want the rightful owner to have it. They will be able to find out who it belongs to.

If the original sim card is not in the phone, then like I said before, there is no way for anyone to prove that you stole that phone.

Originally Posted by RRODRIG30

ONE THING I FORGOT TO MENTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If there is an old sim card in there (the original sim card), turn it in wether it's active or not. Take it to your nearest T-Mobile retail store and tell them you want the rightful owner to have it. They will be able to find out who it belongs to.

If the original sim card is not in the phone, then like I said before, there is no way for anyone to prove that you stole that phone.

okay well what if i took the sim card out and swapped it with my own.. why do i have to return it? im not putting it back in the phone again

just use it with your own sim.dont worry about it. if you feel like turning it in go ahead! other than that be happy with it. by the way what model is it?

Originally Posted by sabster

okay well what if i took the sim card out and swapped it with my own.. why do i have to return it? im not putting it back in the phone again

What I meant was turn in the whole phone, not just the sim card. A phone with the original sim card still inside of it, active, means that the owner probably isn't even aware that his phone is gone. I mean, if you lost your bank card wouldn't you call to cancel it immediately? That's why I said that if the original sim card is still inside the phone, turn it in (phone w/ sim) and the owner can get it back.

All of this is hypothetical of course. There is no proof that the phone you have is stolen. Used, yes. Stolen. . . how?

just wondering if anyone could help me out, my friend has given me a phone he found because he said it was useless as it was reported lost and has been blocked, is there any way to unlock such a phone

if its a nokia i can hook you up with a few sites to unlock it. but thats were my help train stops im not to good at unlocking,if it is a nokia throw me a pm.