I'm worried about buying a used iPhone as have heard too many scamming stories about the seller reporting it as stolen after the sale is complete, then phone gets blocked. Can this happen if the phone has been reset before I purchase and I sign in with my own Apple id?
If you have to ask this question, then I suggest you go elsewhere to buy an iPhone that you can trust is reliable and safe. Or don't buy one at all unless you want to throw your money away.
Doesn't really answer the question does it? Not everyone can afford to buy direct from the Apple Store. I'm sure the majority of sellers are genuine but surely there's nothing wrong with finding out more about the potential risks and problems buying second hand.
Maybe someone else will have something more useful to post but thanks for your input.
I would have to agree with Kappy. If you are questioning this sale, then I would look at other options. If the cost is a concern, perhaps it is time to start a savings fund so that you will have the money to purchase a phone from a trusted source. This seller can always report it as stolen and block it.
If the seller was the original purchaser of record and activated the phone with a carrier, then yes, they could mess you up. Carriers have been known to blacklist phones when reported stolen by their original owner of record as basically they simply take the word of that person since they are on record as having originally purchased the device new. Sellers on Craigslist and eBay have reportedly sold stolen phones which were reported by their owners to their carrier, so the naive buyer is stuck with a blacklisted phone. The USA has a universal blacklisting service in place as do some other countries. Once blacklisted, US carriers cannot remove a device ID from the database. If you buy used, you buy as is with the ever present caveat of buyer beware. Ain't-theft advances like Activation Lock and universal blacklisting do help owners, but they make the used market much more of virtual minefield.
If I buy a used iphone 5, which has been reset by seller, and I then activate it with my own Apple ID, can the seller then report it stolen at a later date and block it?
