How to check if an iphone was stolen??

JoshuvaAntonio wrote:

Please check the serial number and type it in apple service coverage or any other site.

It will show whether it is blacklisted (stolen)

No it won't. It just tells you what the warranty coverage is. Apple doesn't track stolen or blacklisted phones (which are not necessarily the same thing).

JoshuvaAntonio wrote:

Maybe you are level 9 but please do understand that if an iphone is reported as stolen it is known as blacklisted and can be identified.

Not only have I been around these forums for a long time, I also worked for a major U.S. cellular carrier for twenty years. There is no such thing as a universal list of stolen or blacklisted phones.

JoshuvaAntonio wrote:

Respected Level 9 user, my bubble have burst out. I am crying out now.

There may not be a global blacklist, but the information i have provided could help users at a 50% rate. So please co-operate

So, about the same as flipping a coin!

Back in 2002, Europe was one of the first parts of the world to acknowledge the need for a shared database of stolen phones. By 2004, the GSMA, the trade association for global GSM mobile operators, launched an effort to increase the efficiency of tracking stolen phones across Europe. Nine years later, Canada developed the Canadian Wireless Telecommunication Association (CWTA) Blacklist in the end of September 2013.

“Not only will this national blacklist help to make smartphones a less valuable target for criminals, but the industry has also taken steps to help Canadian consumers identify if a pre-owned device has previously been reported as lost or stolen,” said CWTA President and CEO Bernard Lord.

The USA joined a shared carrier database in November 2013 after previously only co-operating between certain major operators. The Cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA) is an international industry trade group that assisted with the creation of this database. This shared blacklist also integrates with international databases to ensure complete cross-border tracking of stolen and lost devices.

What do you tell about this ? Respected Level 10 friend.

JoshuvaAntonio wrote:

Thank you for being humble and giving proper replies instead of throwing insults.

People explaining that you are incorrect is not "throwing insults". No one in this thread has insulted you. But, several of us, including Allan, have disagreed with you.

Try https://www.guidingtech.com/38237/buying-used-iphone/

Please check the serial number and type it in apple service coverage or any other site.

It will show whether it is blacklisted (stolen)

****

This can help to identify it. Maybe you are level 9 but please do understand that if an iphone is reported as stolen it is known as blacklisted and can be identified.

JoshuvaAntonio wrote:

Wherever you have worked. Fact remains same. There is a global blacklist. Do some research and find out. Because i cant post any links in forums. Please Try typing imeipro in Google.

I'm sorry but you're incorrect. The link was removed because the Host are aware that the site provides misleading information.

Its ok! I understand that you didn’t know about blacklisted phones. But Fact remains same. You could have done some research on it. Please dont be angry on a poor Level 1 user especially when you know what he is telling is right and you being wrong.

Hope this helps!

Have a nice day all

JoshuvaAntonio wrote:

Its ok! I understand that you didn’t know about blacklisted phones. But Fact remains same. You could have done some research on it. Please dont be angry on a poor Level 1 user espwhen you know what he is telling is right and you being wrong.

No one is angry with you. We just know that the link you were giving provides incorrect and misleading information. And, despite the passage you posted (without proper attribution), there is still no true universal blacklist. Not all countries or carriers are involved in a shared list of stolen phone. And, to the best of my knowledge, carriers don't share that information publicly. You can take a phone to your carrier and they can look it up for you.

No angry here. I just didn't what the OP to be mislead by your incorrect comments. I think with all of the other who have been posted on this thread on the fallacy of your reason, the OP should have a pretty good idea of which way to go by now.

Personally, I think if what you are saying was true that would be a good thing but so far no one has been able to develop any such thing.

I don't mean to be late to the party, but I just want to add one little note in the spirit of not misleading the OP.

Just because the phone does not show up on the blacklist, doesn't mean that it is not stolen.

I'd guess that most people wouldn't know about the blacklist, much less bother with reporting it lost or stolen.

Excellent point. Carriers blacklist devices. Not the police, not Apple. If someone files a stolen property report with their local police but never inform their carrier, the device will never be blacklisted.

And there is no universal nor global police database of stolen cellular devices. Apple itself does not accept reports of lost or stolen devices and does not track them - they don’t get involved at all with lost or stolen personal property.

The reality is their simply is no way to know, for certain, that a used iPhone or iPad is not stolen when buying from an individual or an anonymous social media/web site listing.

Trying to add some clarity, it is reasonable to say if a phone appears on a blacklist you know it is unusable. If a phone does not appear on a blacklist it tells you very little except that it was not blacklisted at the moment it was checked. It is possible that a stolen phone may be offered for sale before it gets reported as stolen, and the buyer could discover the phone purchased on Saturday gets blacklisted Monday when the database is updated with the weekend thefts. There is also a long running problem with insurance fraud where a legally owned phone is sold for cash, then (some time later) the seller reports it stolen and claims insurance for a second bite at the value. That phone could take weeks or months to appear on the blacklist.

The bottom line is that buying a second hand smartphone from an unknown buyer is inherently high risk.