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Lost and Found Moral Issue

I lost my tilt a couple of days ago only to find it today after already calling it in to replace it under my warranty. My problem now is I already paid the 50 dollars to replace it. Should I send it back or give it to my brother who is begging for it. Can the company see that he will be using my "lost" phone even if he has his own sim card. Thanks for any advice.

link00thehero said:
Can the company see that he will be using my "lost" phone even if he has his own sim card. Thanks for any advice.
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Yes.
Don't know where you're living, but in E.U they can block IMEI in the whole system. You also may involve in insurance fraud, too.
To my opinion, you should call the company to check if they want you to do, and don't forget to ask back the deduction fee if they tell you to send it back.

My phone's service was turned off and will be reactivated once the new phone arrives with my new sim card. But what my brother wants to do is put his sim card in my old phone so he can use it that way. but that seems pretty shady to me. I don't want to get in trouble with my phone company. Should i let him do it and just use the phone they send me or just return it? I already paid for the new one, so is it wrong?

if they have blocked the IMEI number (most do when a phone is reported stolen / lost) then your brother will not be able to use it.
also if they catch your brother using it you (and your brother) can be done for a few reasons:
Insurance Fraud
Using stolen goods (knowing they are stolen)
etc
so to be honest id just phone them and see if you return the phone if they can reverse the charge. alot less hassle than paying fines etc in the near future

You probably won't get away with it..
But if you could - by all means, screw the insurance company as hard as you possibly can.

Not that I advocate this behavior at all, but I have been in a similar situation and had no problem using a previously thought lost device with a different sim on what used to be Cingular.

Under what warranty did you replace it?

You agreed to ship the phone back to them if you did find it. There's instructions that come in the box. But whether or not you do it is up to you.

Two options -
A. Ring up the company and see which they want back, OR
B. Don't.
If you go with A. you might get your money back, but I doubt it. I also doubt they will let you keep both.
If you go with B. you will be comitting fraud and if caught you will be in legal trouble and I will have no sympathy for you. If your brother wants a tilt, he can go buy his own, do NOT give him the spare or you will be putting a LOT of trust in him. Do NOT use it as a phone or otherwise allow it to be used as a phone - it will get traced which will lead to legal problems.
Realistically, you should go with A. - it's the right thing to do, it's less risky and the handset should effectively be useless to you anyway.

I love how you title this as a moral issue, but your only question is if the company can find out about it. Doesn't sound like you have any moral concerns but rather "will I get caught" concerns.

ship it to me. it'lld surly be lost for ever!

Call them. There is such a thing as Karma, if you don't call them you very well might really lose it and they won't give one back.

Regarding moral issue - this is EASY PEASEY - trade places - you are them and they are you - should THEY return it to you? You reported it stolen/lost - they replaced it you no longer own the other one - you must send it back.
Another analogy - you call your insurance company and say you have filed a police report that your car was stolen and then find it in your garage - can you cash the check and get another car and drive two of them? Nope - you are going to get caught filing a false report to the police and do some serious jail time.
The IMEI number is unique to the phone - you are going to get caught if you play fast and loose - don't pretend that it is a moral issue when you only want to know if you can get caught.

I guess you could go to howardforums and sell it as Mike Jones?

I guess it really depends on who your service carrier is.
If its ATT/Cingular, I wouldn't return it. I'm almost 100% sure that they can track what phone you're using but not the IMEI number of that phone. The reason I say this is because I have a habit of switching or getting new phones every few months. I purchased the Tilt used from a HoFo member. I recently had problems with it and had to RMA it. They asked me for me IMEI number and I had a feeling it was past the year mark but they said that it looks like you've only had the phone since Sept so it would be covered under warranty. The thing is I got the phone from the HoFo member in Sept, but he said he had been using it for a few months prior to that.
But I could be wrong. You could always call ATT/Cingular and just be blunt about it and ask them if they can track your lost phone via IMEI because you have an idea of who might have it.

ChumleyEX said:
I guess you could go to howardforums and sell it as Mike Jones?
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+1. I really shouldn't have found this so funny, but I did.

ChumleyEX said:
I guess you could go to howardforums and sell it as Mike Jones?
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Yep, or send it to Jakeypoo then call the FBI with a confirmed 'handling stolen goods'

For all our European counterparts. In the E.U. it is very much illegal to use a "stolen" or "lost" phone. They also block IMEIs and CAN track them. For the life of me, all I've been able to find about whether the cell phones companies track or block IMEIs or phones is that we don't do it here the US. At&t and at&t's insurance companies have told me is "sorry, we can't track or block the phone from being used again." To me, the reason is obvious. If the phone is stolen, at&t gets a new customer and you have to buy a new phone.
You make your own decision and you make it at your own risk but search away and maybe you'll find the answer you're really looking for.
I doubt you'll spend the rest of your life in prison..... Hell maybe.... If you really feel bad about ripping off a mutli-billion dollar corporation that is already ripping you off. Huh.... Tough choice....

Ring the carrier, tell them to cancel warranty replacement as you have found the original and to refund you the $50 and reactivate the existing phone with either the old or new sim card. I believe under your statuatory rights (at least in the UK anyway) they would have to oblidge as you have the right to cancel a service (in this case the warranty replacement) within a reasonable amount of time.
Try it and save yourself $50 maybe....

This is no moral dilema at all. Just ask yourself "What Would Jesus Do?"
There's your answer.
Do the right thing. Call them and ask what you should do. That way there is no more guilt or fear.

Question about AT&T, GPS and Kaisers

I found a Kaiser phone at my house after a party I had last weekend. It had a password on it but no sim card in it. I asked around and none of my friends/anyone we know are missing a kaiser, so I guess this one is up for grabs. I did some research on it and it seems to be a really excellent phone, a significant upgrade from my old, old razr, so since no one has claimed it I thought about keeping it.
My question is if I put my sim card into it, is there any way AT&T can track me down and accuse me of stealing it? If so, I may as well just sell it on ebay or craigslist rather than go through the hassle of defending myself over something that was left at my house.

well considering it was left at your house and if you asked everyone there if they lost it and they said no I wouldn't worry about it.

You might want to consider something really radical, taking it to AT&T and let them track down the owner. If it has a SIM card they can determine who is the owner.

GPS my foot!
a gentleman said:
I found a Kaiser phone at my house after a party I had last weekend. It had a password on it but no sim card in it.
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And this has what to do with GPS?
Seems strange to say the least - who goes around with a phone with the sim slot empty
I asked around and none of my friends/anyone we know are missing a kaiser...
My question is if I put my sim card into it, is there any way AT&T can track me down and accuse me of stealing it?
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Now you have my attention, my advise is to report it to AT&T and hand it in to the Police. Even if your party guests cant remember losing a Tilt at your place, there's no doubt it does belong to someone and that someone will be missing it. Even if that someone has insurance which covers it, the phone will be locked if an attempt is made to use it (at least thats what they do here in the UK) so it's only worth will be as parts but even then they're not your parts to sell.
Put yourself in the shoes of the person who has 'lost' it. If it's an AT&T contract phone, the IMEI number will enable them to track down the rightful owner very quickly and even if the sticker/markings are defaced, that info is within the phones programming.

a gentleman said:
I found a Kaiser phone at my house after a party I had last weekend. It had a password on it but no sim card in it. I asked around and none of my friends/anyone we know are missing a kaiser, so I guess this one is up for grabs. I did some research on it and it seems to be a really excellent phone, a significant upgrade from my old, old razr, so since no one has claimed it I thought about keeping it.
My question is if I put my sim card into it, is there any way AT&T can track me down and accuse me of stealing it? If so, I may as well just sell it on ebay or craigslist rather than go through the hassle of defending myself over something that was left at my house.
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Hmm no offence but this sounds a bit dodgy...why would someone leave a phone which costs around 300 pounds and not try to find it? The first thing I'd do would be to trace back my activities on the day I lost my phone. So you would have me in your house the next day asking if you haven't found it.

True but if it's a kaiser oem and not an actual Tilt, AT&T might not have the info. Taking it to the police is good, also you can put an ad in the paper stating lost PDA but not give what it is to see if real owner calls.

Flying Kiwi said:
And this has what to do with GPS?
Seems strange to say the least - who goes around with a phone with the sim slot empty
.
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Exactly my friend.
Dodgy!!!

I actually found a Sidekick2 at my local Target a few months back just sitting on a shelf in an aisle I was shopping in. I took it up to customer service and turned it in the lady asked me how they would be able to find out who's it was I said call 611 T-Mobile will know.

n3rxs said:
I actually found a Sidekick2 at my local Target a few months back just sitting on a shelf in an aisle I was shopping in. I took it up to customer service and turned it in the lady asked me how they would be able to find out who's it was I said call 611 T-Mobile will know.
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Ok but it had a sim card right???

Esteel said:
You might want to consider something really radical, taking it to AT&T and let them track down the owner. If it has a SIM card they can determine who is the owner.
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I live in the United States. The nearest AT&T store is about 50 minutes one way away from my home, which translates to about $30 in gas to just to turn it in. I stated in the original post that it did not have a SIM in it.
-Arturo- said:
Hmm no offence but this sounds a bit dodgy...why would someone leave a phone which costs around 300 pounds and not try to find it? The first thing I'd do would be to trace back my activities on the day I lost my phone. So you would have me in your house the next day asking if you haven't found it.
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A bit dodgy? I suppose you're implying that you think I stole it. Let me reassure you I did not. It was Saturday night over a week ago, people were drinking, and there were friends of friends who came to the party that my roommates and I didn't know. In an age of dual SIM slots, separate work and personal phones, and college kids who share phones, is it impossible to believe that someone may have swapped the card out and then mistakenly forgot where they lost the phone? It has been over a week and there has been no word from anyone, nor has anyone shown up at my doorstep.
n3rxs said:
True but if it's a kaiser oem and not an actual Tilt, AT&T might not have the info. Taking it to the police is good, also you can put an ad in the paper stating lost PDA but not give what it is to see if real owner calls.
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It is an actual Tilt. Says AT&T on the top right corner. Once again let me stress that spending money to find the owner of this phone is out of the question. At the moment I am $28 short of the money I need to buy a ($158, used) book required to do my homework for college. My solution? I'm basically not eating while going into class super early to borrow a classmate's book to do my homework until I can afford to purchase my own.
As I said before, I live in the United States. If I turned it in to the police here, one of two things would happen:
1.) It would sit on a shelf indefinitely and the cops would snicker behind my back as I left.
2.) It would sit on a shelf until a cop decided it would be a nice upgrade for him.
Either way, if I turned it into the police the owner would not get it back. All I want to know is, if I used this as my own phone, would AT&T care/make a big enough deal out of it that it could cause me legal trouble?

We've got a great mystery on our hands.
Sherlock Holmes​
and
The SIMless Kaiser​
The missing SIM card is the greatest mystery. Who would leave their phone behind without the SIM card? Was the SIM door open when you found it? What state was it in? On or off? What applications were open? Does it have an AT&T ROM?

No justification to keep it or sell it from me.
a gentleman said:
I live in the United States. The nearest AT&T store is about 50 minutes one way away from my home, which translates to about $30 in gas to just to turn it in.
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Do you think there may be other options to notify a company that deals in communications technology apart from a personal visit?
I stated in the original post that it did not have a SIM in it.
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I stated in my post that it does have an IMEI number though and that does allow it's rightful owner to be traced (along with its serial number, any identifying marks/scratches or even fingerprints if it came down to it). Why have you not responded to my post? You asked for advise and I tried to help.
and then re the US Police
1.) It would sit on a shelf indefinitely and the cops would snicker behind my back as I left.
2.) It would sit on a shelf until a cop decided it would be a nice upgrade for him.
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and then
Either way, if I turned it into the police the owner would not get it back
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I think you've been watching to many episodes of The Simpsons. Cheif Wiggum isn't their roll model.
All I want to know is, if I used this as my own phone, would AT&T care/make a big enough deal out of it that it could cause me legal trouble?
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I've already answered that issue so what part of the phone being locked when someone attempts to use it isn't clear? I think you have already decided what you want to do and are now looking for justifications to support that. You're not going to get that from me.

Flying Kiwi said:
Do you think there may be other options to notify a company that deals in communications technology apart from a personal visit?
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Well, I decided to take your advice and call AT&T. The representative basically told me I have two options.
1.) Keep the phone.
2.) Pay to ship it to them.
He refused to answer any questions regarding legality of my use of it. At least I know now that AT&T doesn't care. It's another phone sale for them, after all.
Flying Kiwi said:
I stated in my post that it does have an IMEI number though and that does allow it's rightful owner to be traced (along with its serial number, any identifying marks/scratches or even fingerprints if it came down to it). Why have you not responded to my post? You asked for advise and I tried to help.
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AT&T apparently isn't interested in tracing the phone back to them. They didn't even ask me for the IMEI.
Flying Kiwi said:
and then re the US Police
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You're out of your element, limey. Talk to me when you live in a country whose federal prison system houses over 2,000,000 felons, instead of 70,000. The cops don't give a rat's rainbow ass about lost cell phones when there are real crimes being committed.
Flying Kiwi said:
I've already answered that issue so what part of the phone being locked when someone attempts to use it isn't clear? I think you have already decided what you want to do and are now looking for justifications to support that. You're not going to get that from me.
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You haven't answered a goddamn thing. I asked one simple question. Allow me to reiterate and explain. The police here need proper motivation to take something seriously. If I handed a phone in at the police station, they would likely laugh in my face. However, if some whiny moron comes in and reports a phone stolen and continues pressing the issue over and over with them, and then I turn up using it with my SIM card in it, I'm afraid they'll assume I'm guilty of stealing it when I am not. That is why I asked this ONE simple question that not a single person in this thread has answered. The circumstances of my acquisition are completely moot at this point. All I want is an opinion on whether or not my using this Kaiser could result in legal problems.
The only solutions I've been offered are ways to get the phone back to it's rightful owner. This is not the issue. This will not happen. I have already done everything in my power to try to get the phone back to who it belonged to (notice; PAST-TENSE).
Now allow me to once again make this perfectly clear. Does anyone have any experience with UNITED STATES police regarding their dedication to investigating reports of phone theft, and does my use of the phone in any way give them legal grounds to ASSUME that I am the thief and to cause me legal troubles when I did nothing wrong?
Edit: I just realized that you believe that AT&T locks the phone here. They do not. They do not enforce the blacklist, so should I put my SIM card in, I will be able to use it.

a gentleman said:
Well, I decided to take your advice and call AT&T. The representative basically told me I have two options.
1.) Keep the phone.
2.) Pay to ship it to them.
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So you're telling us they weren't interested in providing you with a freepost address or sending you a prepaid envelope to send it to them in?
He refused to answer any questions regarding legality of my use of it.
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Why, if he said you could keep it (your words not mine), what would be the point unless it could be used. Somethings not adding up here.
At least I know now that AT&T doesn't care. It's another phone sale for them, after all.
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What makes you come to that conclusion? You say you made one call, are you judging all of AT&T on that basis? What makes you think it's another phone sale for them, the person who 'lost' the phone may well be using another old phone until the contract expires or they may have bought a different phone elsewhere to use on the AT&T network.
AT&T apparently isn't interested in tracing the phone back to them. They didn't even ask me for the IMEI.
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Did they say they're not (apparently) interested in tracking the phone back to them or is it just that they cant tell you who the rightful owner is for data protection reasons - you're jumping to a conclusion there which I think is the wrong one. Did you even offer the IMEI to them? It's a pity we don't have the other persons account of how the phone conversation went because there are lots of things here that don't add up.
You're out of your element, limey.
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Do you think from my forum name that I may not be a 'limey' or does anyone currently residing in the UK automatically 'earn' that title?
The cops don't give a rat's rainbow ass about lost cell phones when there are real crimes being committed.
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Over here in limey land cellphone theft is commonly associated with other forms of crime as well so it'd be an unwise police officer who didn't take any interest in such an expensive phone turning up looking to go back to its rightful owner.
You haven't answered a goddamn thing.
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Not one thing eh or could it be my answers just aren't what you were hoping for?
I asked one simple question.
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I think it's reasonable for people to offer advise based on your question even though it may not directly answer all of your question, after all, most of us here aren't lawyers who are trained to provide legal advise.
If I handed a phone in at the police station, they would likely laugh in my face.
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I seriously doubt that. When I handed in a (quite valuable looking) phone I found left on a train seat to the train companies lost and found dept and reported it to the police a few months ago, there was no laughing in my face at all, not even a little bit. In fact all involved were grateful and from what I gathered in my follow-up, the person later came and claimed their phone back.
However, if some whiny moron comes in and reports a phone stolen and continues pressing the issue over and over with them, and then I turn up using it with my SIM card in it, I'm afraid they'll assume I'm guilty of stealing it when I am not.
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Even though you say YOU didn't steal it, how do you know it's not stolen (by someone else)? I wouldn't give you much of a chance if a case went to court for you having possession of a stolen item and you claimed well I didn't steal it and I'd done everything I reasonably can to try and sort it, without having at least handed it into the Police. Is that the sort of legal advise you wanted or is does that conflict to much with your plan to keep the phone or sell it for gain? As for keeping it, you are right I wasn't aware AT&T don't lock phones reported missing but I am aware networks can tell roughly where a given phone is while being used. If you want me to hold your hand and say there'll be no problems if you keep it or sell it, I'm unwilling to offer that. The fact you repeatedly don't seem willing to accept advise that is offered makes me think this is some kind of leg pulling excercise - if it is, congratulations, you've succeded in pulling my leg.

Flying Kiwi said:
So you're telling us they weren't interested in providing you with a freepost address or sending you a prepaid envelope to send it to them in?
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Yes.
Flying Kiwi said:
Why, if he said you could keep it (your words not mine), what would be the point unless it could be used. Somethings not adding up here.
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Perhaps it had something to do with the "This call may be monitored for quality assurance" recording before he picked up?
Flying Kiwi said:
What makes you come to that conclusion? You say you made one call, are you judging all of AT&T on that basis? What makes you think it's another phone sale for them, the person who 'lost' the phone may well be using another old phone until the contract expires or they may have bought a different phone elsewhere to use on the AT&T network.
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I could tell based on the tone of the representative's voice. He couldn't have cared less whether or not the person got their phone back or even if they bought their next phone from AT&T. However, since their former phone was an AT&T product, it is more likely than not that their next will be as well.
Flying Kiwi said:
Did they say they're not (apparently) interested in tracking the phone back to them or is it just that they cant tell you who the rightful owner is for data protection reasons - you're jumping to a conclusion there which I think is the wrong one. Did you even offer the IMEI to them? It's a pity we don't have the other persons account of how the phone conversation went because there are lots of things here that don't add up.
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See above.
Flying Kiwi said:
Do you think from my forum name that I may not be a 'limey' or does anyone currently residing in the UK automatically 'earn' that title?
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Automatically earned.
Flying Kiwi said:
Over here in limey land cellphone theft is commonly associated with other forms of crime as well so it'd be an unwise police officer who didn't take any interest in such an expensive phone turning up looking to go back to its rightful owner.
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Your naivety is actually beginning to amuse me.
Flying Kiwi said:
Not one thing eh or could it be my answers just aren't what you were hoping for?
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Please read before you type. I only asked one question. What you offered was conjecture and nonsense.
Flying Kiwi said:
1.) I think it's reasonable for people to offer advise based on your question even though it may not directly answer all of your question, after all, 2.) most of us here aren't lawyers who are trained to provide legal advise.
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1.) Redundant. Not interested.
2.) Wasn't asking for professional legal advice. Was asking for opinions based on past experiences.
Flying Kiwi said:
I seriously doubt that. When I handed in a (quite valuable looking) phone I found left on a train seat to the train companies lost and found dept and reported it to the police a few months ago, there was no laughing in my face at all, not even a little bit. In fact all involved were grateful and from what I gathered in my follow-up, the person later came and claimed their phone back.
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Haha, once again your naivety amuses me. In America, if you were on fire, most people wouldn't piss on you to put it out (that's a figure of speech, if you couldn't tell. Try to think about what it means.), and would step over your corpse if it meant the slightest personal benefit.
Flying Kiwi said:
Even though you say YOU didn't steal it, how do you know it's not stolen (by someone else)? I wouldn't give you much of a chance if a case went to court for you having possession of a stolen item and you claimed well I didn't steal it and I'd done everything I reasonably can to try and sort it, without having at least handed it into the Police. Is that the sort of legal advise you wanted or is does that conflict to much with your plan to keep the phone or sell it for gain? As for keeping it, you are right I wasn't aware AT&T don't lock phones reported missing but I am aware networks can tell roughly where a given phone is while being used. If you want me to hold your hand and say there'll be no problems if you keep it or sell it, I'm unwilling to offer that. The fact you repeatedly don't seem willing to accept advise that is offered makes me think this is some kind of leg pulling excercise - if it is, congratulations, you've succeded in pulling my leg.
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Your English composition is falling apart. In regard to this part of your ridiculous post, I believe I will take your previous advice in that you are clearly quite unqualified to answer any questions regarding the legality of such a subject. Once again I find myself questioning whether you comprehended, or even read my last post. I am not asking for advice. I am asking for opinions and personal experiences that may shed some light on the question I asked.
a gentleman said:
Does anyone have any experience with UNITED STATES police regarding their dedication to investigating reports of phone theft, and does my use of the phone in any way give them legal grounds to ASSUME that I am the thief and to cause me legal troubles when I did nothing wrong?
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Cmon, don't get so upset. You should have known many would frown upon this so let people give their opnion and don't get so upset.
And IMO, do the right thing and be "a gentleman"
good luck whatever direction you happen to choose.

a gentleman said:
In America, if you were on fire, most people wouldn't piss on you to put it out (that's a figure of speech, if you couldn't tell. Try to think about what it means.), and would step over your corpse if it meant the slightest personal benefit.
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Ha! It sounds proposterous, but it's pretty true...I had a good chuckle on this one.

Dude...wether or not you can use the phone is irrelevant cause the law is pretty clear on how you need to treat lost and found property...if caught using it you are as guilty as if you stole it yourself (going by the strict letter of the law)....so the question you need to ask yourself is wether its worth the trouble....the other thing you need to figure out is why would someone leave a phone without a SIM at your house and not claim it...is there a possibility that the phone itself is hot...(previously stolen and conveniently discarded at your place) my advice : too many variables and if's and maybe's just not worth the trouble ....
EDIT :- And yes its possible to track the phone through the IMEI number in the event the original user wants to do it...

Nexus 5 Stolen After Delivery

Got 2 phones, 1 for me and one for my Girlfriend.
They arrived Friday.
Hers was stolen today from a local college.
I called T-MO and had them blacklist The IMEI
Is there any recourse I can take through Google?
I called them but it seemed they were only familiar with UPS as the theif.
I had text'd the phone telling the person I would pay a cash reward for the return or they could turn it in to Lost and found. But they turned the phone off half hour later.
Keep your eyes out for any too good to be true deals.
Any advice or direction is greatly appreciated.
************UPDATE*************
Amex didn't cover anything.
T-mobile claims They cant block it because it was purchased through Google.
Google says they cant do anything after the phone was "Activated" although All we did was put in a sim and turn it on.
So basically a big F You from google
I WILL NEVER BUY A GOOGLE PRODUCT EVER AGAIN!
Basically if you bought a phone from google as soon as you open the box Anyone can steal it free and clear.
There is No recourse possible. You cant block the IMEI. Nexus Devices are Gold Mines for theifs. Steal it Factory reset it and you got yourself a free device.
I AM SHOCKED that Google is So Stupid.
*****************
Update.
I dont blame anyone for the phone being stolen. BUT ALL NEXUS OWNERS BEWARE!!!!
If your phone is stolen Google doesnt give a ****. and neither does your carrier.
Its gone and it wont be turned into lost and found because its a perfectly functioning free device for anyone to find or steal with NO RECOURSE. that can be TAKEN
you are God Dam **** Out of luck.
Deal with it thats what you get for going with GOOGLE. See page 8 for details And I do have the emails from google still.

DAMN!
dinc4g said:
Got 2 phones, 1 for me and one for my Girlfriend.
They arrived Friday.
Hers was stolen today from a local college.
I called T-MO and had them blacklist The IMEI
Is there any recourse I can take through Google?
I called them but it seemed they were only familiar with UPS as the theif.
I had text'd the phone telling the person I would pay a cash reward for the return or they could turn it in to Lost and found. But they turned the phone off half hour later.
Keep your eyes out for any too good to be true deals.
Any advice or direction is greatly appreciated.
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That SUCKS. Google can do nothing for you, my best advice would be to report it stolen to your local authorities. Make sure to give them the serial number and stuff so they can verify that it's yours if they find it.

dinc4g said:
Got 2 phones, 1 for me and one for my Girlfriend.
They arrived Friday.
Hers was stolen today from a local college.
I called T-MO and had them blacklist The IMEI
Is there any recourse I can take through Google?
I called them but it seemed they were only familiar with UPS as the theif.
I had text'd the phone telling the person I would pay a cash reward for the return or they could turn it in to Lost and found. But they turned the phone off half hour later.
Keep your eyes out for any too good to be true deals.
Any advice or direction is greatly appreciated.
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Click to collapse
Check with the credit card company that you used to pay for the phone, I think they have some kind of purchase protection within 60 or 90 days.

hpacura said:
Check with the credit card company that you used to pay for the phone, I think they have some kind of purchase protection within 60 or 90 days.
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Click to collapse
Opps I replied to the wrong person. Meant to reply to OP.

I don't know anything about it, but I saw a feature called android device manager. Both my nexus 5 and my old phone show up on this site:
https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager

dinc4g said:
Got 2 phones, 1 for me and one for my Girlfriend.
They arrived Friday.
Hers was stolen today from a local college.
I called T-MO and had them blacklist The IMEI
Is there any recourse I can take through Google?
I called them but it seemed they were only familiar with UPS as the theif.
I had text'd the phone telling the person I would pay a cash reward for the return or they could turn it in to Lost and found. But they turned the phone off half hour later.
Keep your eyes out for any too good to be true deals.
Any advice or direction is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try using the Android Device Manager to locate it before contacting the thief? Or was she not able to even open the box to register it?

jhudak said:
I don't know anything about it, but I saw a feature called android device manager. Both my nexus 5 and my old phone show up on this site:
https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jerfer02 said:
Did you try using the Android Device Manager to locate it before contacting the thief? Or was she not able to even open the box to register it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He would have had activated that feature from the phone in order for it to work...

That SUCKS. Google can do nothing for you, my best advice would be to report it stolen to your local authorities. Make sure to give them the serial number and stuff so they can verify that it's yours if they find it.
Thanks Police report filed!
Check with the credit card company that you used to pay for the phone, I think they have some kind of purchase protection within 60 or 90 days
Thanks Ill Call AMEX Tonight and see what kind of protection they have. I always use amex because they are pretty good about purchase.
Did you try using the Android Device Manager to locate it before contacting the thief? Or was she not able to even open the box to register it?
I didnt but thank you so much for the insight. Im going to try and track the device now.

Couldn't he call Google to brick the phone ?
I had mine stolen by UPS (as*holes sent me an empty box) and they bricked the phone .

inlovewithnexus said:
Couldn't he call Google to brick the phone ?
I had mine stolen by UPS (as*holes sent me an empty box) and they bricked the phone .
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Click to collapse
Actually I called google first, They directed me to my carrier. All google will do is Blacklist The IMEI if its stolen in transit. I asked and pleaded with the google support guy who was very sympathetic but he said there was nothing they could do.
I had my girlfriend "Ring" the phone from google devices. hoping the guy is in class and it makes a big scene.
She also then "Locked" the phone via Google devices.
I really appriciate all the input guys. I actually dont feel so screwed over even though it still sucks. Having NO recourse is like the absolute worst!

dinc4g said:
Actually I called google first, They directed me to my carrier. All google will do is Blacklist The IMEI if its stolen in transit. I asked and pleaded with the google support guy who was very sympathetic but he said there was nothing they could do.
I had my girlfriend "Ring" the phone from google devices. hoping the guy is in class and it makes a big scene.
She also then "Locked" the phone via Google devices.
I really appriciate all the input guys. I actually dont feel so screwed over even though it still sucks. Having NO recourse is like the absolute worst!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A few things:
1) You should always have a lock on the phone (ALWAYS). It's simple to put a password or pattern unlock on the phone and it pretty much completely prevents someone from using the phone. It's still possible to reset the phone, but it's much more difficult for the average thief (too much so to make it worth it).
2) Activate Android Device Manager immediately after turning on any Android phone for the first time. It'll let you track the phone, ring it loudly if you need to, lock it remotely (and permanently), and wipe it, if necessary. It's the best built-in protection possible, and it works really well.

You shipped a phone at college dorm?

Hindsight my friend. This is the first phone I or her have had stolen.
I already activated it on everyone I knows device. And its only been 14 hours :good:
Phone was out of the box, Literally the first day she left the house with it is when it was stolen.

Must have been someone who knew the phone was there
Verstuurd vanaf mijn Nexus 5 met Tapatalk 4

If u enabled it you can track the location of the phone as long as it is logged into your gmail account.
https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager
Just realized this was already mentioned above.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

To the OP, it's an awesome thing that you used AmEx for the purchase as they have incredible benefits. Their purchase protection is second to none (Up to $1000 per incident/$50,000 per year). It's also good you've filed a police report, since you'll need the report number.
1) Call 1-800-322-1277. That's AmEx's purchase protection department.
2) File a stolen item report with them. They'll ask for the supporting documentation or info from the police report.
3) Once they've done their stuff (usually a couple business days) you'll have the funds credited back to your card.
I always use my AmEx for important/expensive purchases just because of this benefit.

poor google
dinc4g said:
Got 2 phones, 1 for me and one for my Girlfriend.
They arrived Friday.
Hers was stolen today from a local college.
I called T-MO and had them blacklist The IMEI
Is there any recourse I can take through Google?
I called them but it seemed they were only familiar with UPS as the theif.
I had text'd the phone telling the person I would pay a cash reward for the return or they could turn it in to Lost and found. But they turned the phone off half hour later.
Keep your eyes out for any too good to be true deals.
Any advice or direction is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Sounds like googles at fault here for her phone being stolen after delivery.

trsix said:
Yes. Sounds like googles at fault here for her phone being stolen after delivery.
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Click to collapse
Nobody said google was at fault.
So here is a horrible update...
I called google initially to report it stolen so they could blacklist the IMEI, Google said they couldnt help so I should call the carrier. I called Tmobile and they claimed they were blacklisting it. a day and a half later nothing is done.
I call Tmobile again and this time they claim they cant do anything since the phone wasnt purchased from them.
So Im pretty upset at this point I try calling LG and they cant help me.
So I call google back Yesterday Friday the 15'th and the CSR tells me there is nothing they can do.
At this point Im Enraged. How can they let this fall through the cracks?
If it was an Iphone it wouldve been HANDLED that day.
But I get the bounce around and now its Saturday and the phone still isnt blacklisted.
Basically googles Inability to Do anything has allowed the theif to either sell it or trade it in for money. basically ensuring I never get the device back.
To make matters worse My Amex is a Bank of america AMEX and people are saying it doesnt have purchase protection only warranty extension.
So at this point I cant get anyone at google to help me. Ive called 6 times, Been referred to 2 specialists and basically told that there is nothing that can be done. Google is telling me they cant black list phones and so I should just deal with it.
I find it unacceptable and I am looking for a way to voice my disdain for google customer service.
They really botched the situation.
Considering.
I called google within 1 hour of the theft and they told me to call my carrier to black list the phone.
This could have been handled on the spot.
If anyone has any information that could help. Even google corporate contact information it would be nice.
I will never buy another product from google after all this BS.

The Google needs to stop screwing the customer.
If we buy a phone from them and the carrier has no authority to blacklist it then Who will ?
Basically you can steal anyone's nexus device and not ever worry about a blacklisted IMEI??????
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2341520&page=2

dinc4g said:
The Google needs to stop screwing the customer.
If we buy a phone from them and the carrier has no authority to blacklist it then Who will ?
Basically you can steal anyone's nexus device and not ever worry about a blacklisted IMEI??????
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2341520&page=2
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Click to collapse
Sorry for your issue, but Google has no play whatsoever to 'blacklist' an IMEI. Carriers do that. If TMO refuses, there is nothing else to do/say about it. You need to focus on getting your money back.

How Easy is it To Get Around a Blacklisted EMEI?

Someone in my family had her Galaxy S9 stolen. She reported it to Verizon and they had the EMEI blacklisted with all carriers.
But how permanently attached is the EMEI number, can't you just wipe it/hack it?
How sophisticated does a thief have to be to circumvent it and make it work on a carrier again?
FYI: I am not asking anything about how to "get around a blacklisted EMEI" number nor do I want to hear about a single way of doing so.
I simply wanted to ask if blacklisting the EMEI is very effective against a phone thief?
We had a brand new S9 stolen, and reported it to Verizon, but they are just general customer service. So their claim that it can't be used by anyone in the US doesn't really mean much to me

halfhumble said:
Someone in my family had her Galaxy S9 stolen. She reported it to Verizon and they had the EMEI blacklisted with all carriers.
But how permanently attached is the EMEI number, can't you just wipe it/hack it?
How sophisticated does a thief have to be to circumvent it and make it work on a carrier again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It can be done. We don't necessarily allow discussion of how to do it here for obvious reasons, but the guy would have to be fairly competent on a computer to go in and do that.
More than likely he'll sell it really cheap to someone or a shady outfit that does know how to do it.

orangekid said:
It can be done. We don't necessarily allow discussion of how to do it here for obvious reasons, but the guy would have to be fairly competent on a computer to go in and do that.
More than likely he'll sell it really cheap to someone or a shady outfit that does know how to do it.
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Click to collapse
Okay, that's what I figured, I thought there must be a way.

halfhumble said:
Okay, that's what I figured, I thought there must be a way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately yes. That is one thing iOS has over Android, I don't think it's possible to reprgoram an IMEI on an iPhone, so once it iCloud locks it really is a brick.
I still prefer Android though because of other pros.

orangekid said:
Unfortunately yes. That is one thing iOS has over Android, I don't think it's possible to reprgoram an IMEI on an iPhone, so once it iCloud locks it really is a brick.
I still prefer Android though because of other pros.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, didn't know that. Android manufactures should follow suit to reduce phone thefts.
Maybe it would have been better to NOT blacklist the EMEI when it's stolen, so that the thief or buyer activates it. Then report it like a month later to track who has it at the time.
If it's been sold, the police could work backwards from the for sale listing or emails with the buyer (Craigslist for example). Kinda elaborate though.....

halfhumble said:
Interesting, didn't know that. Android manufactures should follow suit to reduce phone thefts.
Maybe it would have been better to NOT blacklist the EMEI when it's stolen, so that the thief or buyer activates it. Then report it like a month later to track who has it at the time.
If it's been sold, the police could work backwards from the for sale listing or emails with the buyer (Craigslist for example). Kinda elaborate though.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah well it's not on the manufacturers really, I think it's just a limitation of AOSP and the way android works. Even KNOX can't prevent it or even working around FRP (which I had to do not too long ago for a legitimate forgotten password).
But yeah I think those types of thefts are probably too low importance for the cyber crime division to go thru those types of hoops. The only real possibility would have been to try to track the phone when turned back on, or put one of those invisible self installing tracker type apps in the SD card.
End of the day if you lose or phone or it gets stolen, you're pretty much SOL.

orangekid said:
Yeah well it's not on the manufacturers really, I think it's just a limitation of AOSP and the way android works. Even KNOX can't prevent it or even working around FRP (which I had to do not too long ago for a legitimate forgotten password).
But yeah I think those types of thefts are probably too low importance for the cyber crime division to go thru those types of hoops. The only real possibility would have been to try to track the phone when turned back on, or put one of those invisible self installing tracker type apps in the SD card.
End of the day if you lose or phone or it gets stolen, you're pretty much SOL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"self installing tracker type apps in the SD card." Didn't know that existed. Will look into that.

Question IMEI block?

How and from whom one can submit a request to blacklist/block the IMEI (i.e. in case of theft)?
(basically the IMEIs, since this phone has two..)
Can this be requested directly to Xiaomi?

In the USA, this.

blackhawk said:
In the USA, this.
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That looks to be for India
But in any case, I contacted Xiaomi - they say they can't do it "for privacy and security reasons" (...)
The telephone provider says also they cannot do it
So another motive for potential thieves - go out, steal a phone and all is good. No punishment and you may continue using the device or re-sell it. Ridiculous
Banning an IMEI and have a global database for blacklisted IMEIs should be perfectly viable, so that stolen phones are rendered unusable globally. So that potential thieves can only maybe use the stolen phones for parts
I find it very interesting that governments/providers/manufacturers cannot agree all on that one thing, so that consumers are more protected

jstoner said:
That looks to be for India
But in any case, I contacted Xiaomi - they say they can't do it "for privacy and security reasons" (...)
The telephone provider says also they cannot do it
So another motive for potential thieves - go out, steal a phone and all is good. No punishment and you may continue using the device or re-sell it. Ridiculous
Banning an IMEI and have a global database for blacklisted IMEIs should be perfectly viable, so that stolen phones are rendered unusable globally. So that potential thieves can only maybe use the stolen phones for parts
I find it very interesting that governments/providers/manufacturers cannot agree all on that one thing, so that consumers are more protected
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Click to collapse
Sorry, my bad DoT
Your carrier sure can do it stateside, ask them.
However that's not how I protect mine. I try to avoid flashing it around strangers and keep it out of sight. Eyes, ears, mind in the real world instead of digital lala land. Don't let strangers use it. Never leave it lying around in unsecured areas. When not using stash it right away. If all that fails... anyone trying to steal mine will pay in blood, no free rides.

blackhawk said:
Sorry, my bad DoT
Your carrier sure can do it stateside, ask them.
However that's not how I protect mine. I try to avoid flashing it around strangers and keep it out of sight. Eyes, ears, mind in the real world instead of digital lala land. Don't let strangers use it. Never leave it lying around in unsecured areas. When not using stash it right away. If all that fails... anyone trying to steal mine will pay in blood, no free rides.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, prevention is the best thing
But if/when it happens, there needs to be a way to make the device useless to them. Its the least you can do after that point..

jstoner said:
Yeah, prevention is the best thing
But if/when it happens, there needs to be a way to make the device useless to them. Its the least you can do after that point..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ask your carrier, may have ask more than one rep and/or escalate it.
Unfortunately as with many things in life you get one shot to make/keep it right. I think Admiral Bull Halsey had the right plan when in a jam; "Attack, Attack, Attack!" Anger is more useful than fear.