Database Info

seems that Sprint shared my security info....

Has anyone else encountered this problem? It seems that an employee at Sprint shared my password/security information. Received a notice from Asurion (handset insurance provider for Sprint) that someone had ordered a replacement handset through my account......WTF??????? and what to do.......

I suggest you call the handset insurance provider and tell them you did no such thing and would like to know (for security/curiosity reasons) where & to whom the replacement handset is being delivered. Most likely they will need some identifying information from you to make sure you're really you but they should be able to cough that information up if you explain the problem.
Then I'd be on the phone with Sprint trying to figure out who called them to get a replacement handset (I'm assuming you have to go through Sprint to get to the handset insurance company right?). Someone should get fired over that.

In Canada, that's a serious Privacy issue ... not sure how that's dealt with in your state. If you have a better business bureau (ombudsman), get them involved.
Call Sprint ... speak to management directly, not a regular service representative, indicate that you wish to know who effected this request/transaction and that you will be seeking legal consulation.
Call Asurion ... convey the same sentiments.
I both cases, make absolutely certain to deal with management and don't settle for anything less.
I'd also have them compensate you if they wish to have you as a continued customer.
Good luck

Thanks for your thoughts on this.....
I have contacted both Sprint and Asurion regarding this breach of my privacy. I appreciate your thoughts and your replies Hilaireg and l33tphreak. Hopefully they (Sprint and Asurion) will be able to verify that this handset replacement request was not authorized by me..... Mostly I just wanted to let people out there know that this is occurring. The scariest part of it all is that a password is needed to order a handset replacement through Sprint or Asurion, and here's the kicker: The only ones that know my password information are ME and SPRINT. I think I will be changing my password regularly from this point forward. Hope this doesn't happen to others.....

The scary thing is that Sprint often doesn't pay attention to the password. I had one placed upon my account with them because of my mother using my name and social to order crazy expensive stuff and had me footing the bill, I had to call a number of times to sort out where they neglected to verify it and let her order. Hell, there were even a few times I called and they didn't do more than verify my name and number in the first place, not even the last four of my social and password. Finally, in the end, I cancelled my account completely, paid to disconnect all lines while they all had active contracts, then they still let her do it again! I called them one last time, they wouldn't remove the charges, so I just let it go and they disconnected it for non-payment, I have medical bills up the backside now after having my daughter, so I'm not worried about it on my credit.

Captivate from craigslist may be disabled

So I have a unique situation on my hands. I bought a couple if phones from people on the seattle cl. I live in Canada and sold one of them here and kept the other one for myself.
I just got a call from someone in seattle who somehow got my number. She said that the guy who sold me phone #1 basically pulled some shady stuff and some people got ripped off. The girl who got ripped off supposedly called att and they are disabling the phone via its imei number.
Now what am I to do? I can't get the phone back to the girl. I don't have the money to refund the guy I sold it to. He hasn't contacted me out anything and the girl said it had been a week since Att was contacted. I would feel pretty damn guilty if the guys phone was disabled. Should I contact him? Or I could just let it be and see what happens.
Can att even remotely disable a phone when its in another country. I know for sure that I couldn't connect to their servers to get the ota jh7 update.
Just be wary when buying from cl, people. The guy who sold it to me seemed like a perfectly nice guy and even made up some bs about switching over to a t mobile family plan with his dad.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

they can't disable it if its not on their network.

First of all ATT cant disable phones from their network. Second of all, you did nothing wrong, so its not your responsibility to make it up to anyone.

It sounds shady that "some girl" got your number and called u to tell u that. That in itself sounds shady. I'm all is fine. As long as your handset works who cares
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Unless she is willing to file a complaint in Canada stating that the phone was stolen there, and provide your information as benefiting from that theft, you have nothing to worry about. Given that she said it was taken in the US. You are clear from any liability. Until we annex Canada.
If someone resells the phone back to the US then it would be a problem for them.

well i have first hand knowledge that ATT CAN block imei numbers i had a Dell Streak Beta that they blocked and when there system would recongnize that i had that imei# they would block my sim and i would have to call in to have them remove the block by giving them the IMEI number of a "good" Att phone. so it CAN be done.

So if they disable a certain imei, is that only pertaining to their network? Say he visits the us and att does their voodoo magic. Will it work again when he's back in canada?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

leecox said:
Until we annex Canada.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The way our country is going, I wouldn't be surprised if they beat us to it!
Another live and learn. If you buy electronics off Craig's List you get what you get be it legit or not. So many stories of friends buying Cisco stuff only to find out upon arrival it's not what they were lead to believe it was.

IMEIs can be blocked by operators but in the US it is not common practice. The reason you couldn't do the JH7 OTA from outside of the US is because it can only be done from their network. You can't even do it over WiFi.
If your phone was blocked you wouldn't even be able to attach to the network. And if that's the case, maybe someone messed with the PRI our other network settings.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

AT&T can most certainly block certain IMEIs, however it's only done in extreme situations and it's not like some AT&T customer service rep can decide to block a phone from the network. I read about how the Dell Streak beta/dev phones were all blocked, but those were beta phones and AT&T wanted them out of circulation. They aren't going to use resources that high up to block a single phone from the network.
I'm sure someone could call and say "oh my phone was stolen", but all that will happen is the SIM linked to the account of the "victim" will get shut down, not the handset itself.

nooomoto said:
AT&T can most certainly block certain IMEIs, however it's only done in extreme situations and it's not like some AT&T customer service rep can decide to block a phone from the network. I read about how the Dell Streak beta/dev phones were all blocked, but those were beta phones and AT&T wanted them out of circulation. They aren't going to use resources that high up to block a single phone from the network.
I'm sure someone could call and say "oh my phone was stolen", but all that will happen is the SIM linked to the account of the "victim" will get shut down, not the handset itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong if someone calls at&t and say "oh my phone was stolen"! that imei will be added the list of blocked imei's in the past the only way to find out someone was using a blocked imei is if they called customer server and gave the stolen imei because the phone did not commiunite the imei of the phone being use on the network but now phones will update the imei on the network with you calling them!

subzerologic said:
Wrong if someone calls at&t and say "oh my phone was stolen"! that imei will be added the list of blocked imei's in the past the only way to find out someone was using a blocked imei is if they called customer server and gave the stolen imei because the phone did not commiunite the imei of the phone being use on the network but now phones will update the imei on the network with you calling them!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How would AT&T know you had the legal right to block a given IMEI? How many AT&T bought phones are sold on eBay every day? Standard AT&T policy is unless it has the potential to disrupt the network, they DO NOT block IMEIs without a warrant or other legal justification.
And BTW, details of the mobile equipment including IMEI are communicated to the network every time you attach to it. That's what makes blocking phones possible.
OP, AT&T does not block IMEIs simply at a customer's request and they certainly can't block anything running outside of their own network.

Thanks for the info guys. Worry free now! haha

[Q] friend bought a phone online, seller reported it stolen. please help

It was working when she got it. Suddenly on wednesday morning, it says "restricted access changed" and when she tries to select T-mobile as carrier it says not permitted on sim card. She went into tmobile and they checked the IMEI and it turns out the user reported it lost. She called the seller and he says he didn't do anything and is not answering calls now.
Is there anything she can do? Go to the police? wrong forum?
Guessing it could also have been a stolen phone that the guy sold off right away and the original owner just reported it.

Unless the owner that reported it stolen calls back to T-Mobile and says it wasn't stolen there is nothing you can do. I would stay away from the police since your friend has received stolen property. Unless they want to give it back to the owner.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

she got scammed, and has the phone number and craigslist listing, and the fact that the original owner already reported it stolen. Why stay away from cops?

Because receiving stolen property is a crime? Do what you want with the criminal aspect of it, but you won't be able to use that device until it comes off the lost/stolen list. Sorry.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Receiving stolen property knowingly is a crime. You basically got scammed so there's no issue in reporting it to the police. Chances are however, they will do nothing to help you. It will probably be more of a hassle for you, and you won't get your money back or the status of the phone changed, but, it may stop the person from doing it to someone else.
Sorry but I think your friend is out of luck.
Buying used phones is fine but I would limit it to either people I know or actual businesses not individuals. I bought mine on Ebay, but through a retailer that have sold thousands of phones with good seller feedback.

You can go straight to the cops, does she have a receipt or bill of sale at all? That's the biggest thing. If she does then she shouldn't be in trouble
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

faehsemc said:
You can go straight to the cops, does she have a receipt or bill of sale at all? That's the biggest thing. If she does then she shouldn't be in trouble
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very true. If she has a confirmation or receipt for the sale, then she should be good. Ya, it could be a hassle, is it worth it? Is it worth stopping this a-hole from doing this to someone else?
This biggest thing is, was the phone stolen or lost from a different person other then the seller? I am sure t-mobile can trace the original owner through the imei number.
Sent from my PACmaned SCH-I535

I have bought several phones from individuals on craigslist; to avoid the situation you describe here you must do one simple thing. Before you by the phone pull the battery, call verizon customer service. Read the EIN number to them and they will tell you if the phone has been reported stolen. If the seller refuses to let you do this then you can assume the phone is stolen… don't walk… run away!
Verizon is happy to provide this information to you and you are assured that you are getting a clean phone.
Hope this helps in future purchases.
Rick
nvertigo said:
It was working when she got it. Suddenly on wednesday morning, it says "restricted access changed" and when she tries to select T-mobile as carrier it says not permitted on sim card. She went into tmobile and they checked the IMEI and it turns out the user reported it lost. She called the seller and he says he didn't do anything and is not answering calls now.
Is there anything she can do? Go to the police? wrong forum?
Guessing it could also have been a stolen phone that the guy sold off right away and the original owner just reported it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

GTablet said:
I have bought several phones from individuals on craigslist; to avoid the situation you describe here you must do one simple thing. Before you by the phone pull the battery, call verizon customer service. Read the EIN number to them and they will tell you if the phone has been reported stolen. If the seller refuses to let you do this then you can assume the phone is stolen… don't walk… run away!
Verizon is happy to provide this information to you and you are assured that you are getting a clean phone.
Hope this helps in future purchases.
Rick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue was with tmobile not Verizon.

The problem with that strategy is that the phone was not reported as stolen until after she already had purchased the phone. Most people do not report their phone stolen right away because they are hoping that they will still find it. In that time someone can sell the phone which still has a clean ESN. It wouldn't become bad until the original owner reported it which is probably what happened in her case. The phone had a clean ESN days after she purchased it.
It does bring up an interesting thought. At what point does the ESN transfer to the new account? It would have to at some point, otherwise someone who owned the phone 4 years ago could still report it stolen. And it could be not immediately otherwise there would be no point in being able to report it stolen because the person who stole it would have control over the ESN just be activating it.
I'll have to ask a friend who's a manager of Sprint store.

rtan73 said:
The problem with that strategy is that the phone was not reported as stolen until after she already had purchased the phone. Most people do not report their phone stolen right away because they are hoping that they will still find it. In that time someone can sell the phone which still has a clean ESN. It wouldn't become bad until the original owner reported it which is probably what happened in her case. The phone had a clean ESN days after she purchased it.
It does bring up an interesting thought. At what point does the ESN transfer to the new account? It would have to at some point, otherwise someone who owned the phone 4 years ago could still report it stolen. And it could be not immediately otherwise there would be no point in being able to report it stolen because the person who stole it would have control over the ESN just be activating it.
I'll have to ask a friend who's a manager of Sprint store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On Verizon the esn always remains in the history of your account even if you clear it for sell and is used by another account.

I know they have a history of it, but at one point ownership had to be transferred like a car. Otherwise I could sell my phone to someone then report it stolen 2 years later which would make the phone obsolete without the actual owners permission or knowledge. Or, if the phone had several owners it can't be that all of the previous owners have the right to claim it as stolen indefinetly. There has to be a time limit to when a new account is linked to an ESN and the old account holder no longer can claim it as stolen. That would be the time frame that a person would have to sell a stolen phone.

rtan73 said:
I know they have a history of it, but at one point ownership had to be transferred like a car. Otherwise I could sell my phone to someone then report it stolen 2 years later which would make the phone obsolete without the actual owners permission or knowledge. Or, if the phone had several owners it can't be that all of the previous owners have the right to claim it as stolen indefinetly. There has to be a time limit to when a new account is linked to an ESN and the old account holder no longer can claim it as stolen. That would be the time frame that a person would have to sell a stolen phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as it's active on your account it's safe but if you take it off an active line it can still be activated or reported stolen from a previous owner. I had it happen to me before. The time gap was around 2 years or so.

It does not matter which company it was...they all will check the EIN before you buy the phone...
PaulG1488 said:
The issue was with tmobile not Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

It is always a good idea to get a bill off sale making sure you note the serial numbers, etc. Also have them fill out their information as it is on their drivers license or identification.

[Q] regarding blacklisting phone

Normally when you buy the phone from a carrier, and if you loose your phone, call in and get it blacklisted and people can check the database to see if it blacklisted and all that good stuff...
I bought my N5 from Google Play and can use it on any carrier, so if its lost/stolen, do I call the current carrier and have them blacklist it?
What if someone got a hold of my IMEI and called to get it blacklisted.. how would I go about getting it unblacklisted if I wasnt the one who called it in???
Does google have their own blacklisting database?

I'm pretty sure your carrier will not blacklist the phone till the caller can confirm that they are the owner of the phone (maybe by carrier's records, or by proof of purchase etc).
But since the N5 can be used on other carriers, a carrier blacklist is really not sufficient (if the phone is stolen). I would certainly hope that Google has their own blacklist that will prevent the device from accessing any google services.

I found a story on somewere else of an user whose Google play. N5 got blacklisted by Spring
These are 2 quotes fro the same person:
AIO's website says my Google Nexus 5 is on the lost and stolen list?
Device Reported Lost or Stolen
Our records show that this device is on the national lost and stolen list. Please contact the company that previously provided wireless service for this device for help.
Aio Wireless cannot activate a device that another wireless company added to this list.
This phone was purchased from the Google Play Store. It's been on RingPlus, and StraightTalk (which it's currently on). Is it possible that someone marked it lost or stolen, but it's still working without any problems on ST? It might have been on Net10, I did have the SIM card in it, but I don't think it was active.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got off the phone with Google support. That took around an hour of my time. The Google rep was quite lost on to why in the world Sprint would EVER blacklist phones that were not lost or stolen and have no contracts with them. I was put on hold a couple of times, and I explained what happened. After talking to him, I was transferred to the shipping dept (which apparently takes care of all returns for any reason).
The rep in the shipping dept was very nice, but he kept wanting to give me a refurbished phone for something I never did anything wrong with to begin with. My battery is charged at 50% all the time and I don't want to get stuck with a used phone or a bad battery. I kept telling the rep that I even have an email from RingPlus explaining the situation and that my phone was activated before they knew of this secret blacklist that included Google Play store purchases. He told me he would talk to his lead, came back, and claims that they will be sending me a new device. I don't know if I'm actually getting a used or new device, but at least when it comes it will hopefully not be blacklisted.
I was hoping to switch over to another carrier to save a few dollars each month. So after a $431 dollar hold was put onto my credit card, I guess I wait 3-5 business days and see what I end up receiving in the mail. I'll have to reorder one of the glass screen protectors for my device.
I guess this was a learning experience. Be very careful what CDMA carriers can do to your devices, because they need to have the numbers for it as they can't just pop in a SIM card and go. I'm not sure I will ever be using a Sprint or Verizon MVNO again, or at least for quite a while, and wouldn't ever do it with any devices less then a few months old.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Original article. http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...Google-Nexus-5-is-on-the-lost-and-stolen-list

Not sure about the US, but in europe some countries/carriers have joint IMEI databases. If one carrier marks the IMEI as stolen the phone won't work on any carrier in that country.
Sent from my Nexus 5

liud said:
Not sure about the US, but in europe some countries/carriers have joint IMEI databases. If one carrier marks the IMEI as stolen the phone won't work on any carrier in that country.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this.. thats the situation with in Canada, US and so on... that wasnt my question...

HELP Bought UNPAID Sprint S8+

So,
Just recently bought a sprint g955u off of Offer Up.
Being the uber noob I am, I was sold on the story of it being clean, recently paid off and clear for unlocking.
As you can guess, it was not.
Unpaid bills is what i was told.
After a few google searches of unlocking services, I've found that one may not always be able to unlock due to certain circumstances. Like unpaid bills.
So i have been very hesitant about using them.
As it turns out, the person I bought the phone from happens to be a member of this community. Which is why I am here. So the further I read the more I'm hoping I might actually be able to unlock this phone.
I managed to make it through Sampwnd's root with ease but have hit a roadblock when it comes to unlocking.
Id love to really dive into this phone and maybe actually learn a few things (and god willing maybe even be able to contribute one day!?) but I am just lost.
I'm sure there has to be a new wave/generation of lost noobs heading here, but it was one of your own that brought me here. So please, I ask, help me get my phone working!!

If you have written proof the person said it was paid off, tell them you want to return it and have your money back otherwise you will consider small claims court, otherwise at to them you expect to have it paid off. In the UK the person has the debt of the phone attached to them not the phone, if you sell off the phone they come after you for the money, if you refuse they do block the phone though.

@cabg.kepr,
Depending on how you paid for the device (i.e. credit card) you should be able to get a refund. I'm sorry to tell you that if you paid cash, you are SOL. There's no solution.

Ouch. Really??
No flashing special firmware or anything??
But yup, paid cash. Met outside of a Wal-Mart. He lied about being apart of some dev team yada-yada. Told me I would very easily be able to unlock. He even tried to assist but messages would be VERY delayed. And when asked a technical questions he wouldn't reply or would change the subject. Almost 100% sure he's using an app for a phone.
Well yesterday he just quit replying. Which is what brought me here.
Now I see he's offering a free service, on here, to assist people through Team viewer, with rooting and unlocking.
He had me convinced for 3 days (I now realize how stupid I was..) that he would do it. So three separate times he would access through team viewer for hours at a time. And the few times i popped in to watch (been fairly busy) he would be going through websites and settings. When I asked what was up, he would give some weird excuse (and again, I realize how dumb I was being).
He told me he was getting root and unlock ready, when really, he spent hours going through my network settings and what not. Very suspicious. Luckily I was smart enough to only let him on an empty, freshly installed win10. And disconnected all other devices from wifi.
A few times though he did tell me that he would access my drives later and that he could use my TV to access my network. A couple times said he was a hacker but white hat. Said he had friends that were black and could do anything they wanted. That, at least, I was smart enough to have a chuckle at. But really, this whole thing has just become so strange and uncomfortable. But now I'm just pissed.
So really, this might even deserve admin attention?? This guy could really be some trouble.

@cabg.kepr
Let's clarify one point: Do you have phone service with your device? If not, have you checked the IMEI number (swappa.com, for example) to see if it's black listed?

@cam30era
I do not. The phone is a sprint and the sim was pulled out.
(My current provider is att)
Checked on swappa and it is not blacklisted, ready for activation, but has a finance issue.
Called sprint and they told me the account was negative and unpaid.

cabg.kepr said:
@cam30era
I do not. The phone is a sprint and the sim was pulled out.
(My current provider is att)
Checked on swappa and it is not blacklisted, ready for activation, but has a finance issue.
Called sprint and they told me the account was negative and unpaid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IF if hasn't been blacklisted, you should be able to activate it on your service provider. If you haven't tried yet, give it a try.

Just called att. They directed me to a website that told me my imei was unrecognized by them.

cabg.kepr said:
Just called att. They directed me to a website that told me my imei was unrecognized by them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not unusual for AT&T. It doesn't mean your device can't be activated. Try installing an AT&T SIM card from another device that is already activated on AT&T.

Tried that first thing and got "invalid sim".. it's art prepaid. Not sure if that matters?

cabg.kepr said:
Tried that first thing and got "invalid sim".. it's art prepaid. Not sure if that matters?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Appears this S8+ is SIM (carrier) locked to Sprint. You won't be able to use it on any carrier until the previous owner pays off the outstanding balance.
FWIW: don't confuse SIM locked with bootloader locked. And SamPWMD root won't help you.
Have you tried to contact the seller about this?

Sent pm

cabg.kepr said:
Sent pm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not receive a PM.

Hey sorry for the delay. Was going to send a pm explaing without him seeing but won't need to now.
Basically I still have/had some very sporadic contact. i was worried of really digging in to him in fear that hed be deleting everything and id never hear from him again.
Still not sure what to do. Though it sounds like I have a nice little tablet for at home?? Still very much plan on working on this in hopes that there will be a boot loader root soon??(if I understood that correctly)

cabg.kepr said:
Hey sorry for the delay. Was going to send a pm explaing without him seeing but won't need to now.
Basically I still have/had some very sporadic contact. i was worried of really digging in to him in fear that hed be deleting everything and id never hear from him again.
Still not sure what to do. Though it sounds like I have a nice little tablet for at home?? Still very much plan on working on this in hopes that there will be a boot loader root soon??(if I understood that correctly)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you got fleeced mate, feel sorry for you not sure how claims courts work in America but I'd be going to one of those. Eventually, the phone sounds like it'll be blacklisted, which won't help your cause. I'd keep copies of every conversation you've had with him and screenshots or printouts if you do decide to take it to court.
I'm unsure of the situation but did you buy this phone from the person who hasn't paid it off or did he buy it from them then sell it to you? As for the TeamViewer situation, yeah that's dodgy you're right to be suspicious.

cabg.kepr said:
Hey sorry for the delay. Was going to send a pm explaing without him seeing but won't need to now.
Basically I still have/had some very sporadic contact. i was worried of really digging in to him in fear that hed be deleting everything and id never hear from him again.
Still not sure what to do. Though it sounds like I have a nice little tablet for at home?? Still very much plan on working on this in hopes that there will be a boot loader root soon??(if I understood that correctly)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO phone modification will help you. This device is DEAD unless he pays it off and gets a SIM unlock code for you. You basically have 3 choices:
1) Contact him and insist on a refund, or written evidence of device paid off.
or
2) Contact the police and file a fraud report
or
3) Accept you loss
Again, don't hope that bootloader unlock or root or any device modification will resolve this. It won't. This device is useless until it's paid for at Sprint, and they provide a SIM unlock code.

This is so funny. Always pay with card, even if it's local. Anyone can take a card payment, Paypal, Square, etc; That way you have protection from your credit card provider. This is why I always buy new, not secondhand, from a shady dealer in a dark alley, much less wally world. You got played so hard man. At those dev claims, shouldve asked proof and definitely verified if it was unlocked on the spot before handing cash over. Enjoy your new paperweight. I wanna feel bad for you, but it's kinda hard when you fell for the obvious lies.

Same thing happened to me and I bought unlock code $25.00 flash with US unlock firmware. I am using it on AT&T now. Hopefully buyer don't report stolen. Unpaid phone can still be using on other networks.

Hmm well thank you everyone. Kind of a bummer if thsts the case.
What about this though?? @randy_c it had a neg balance against it and everything??

randy_c said:
Same thing happened to me and I bought unlock code $25.00 flash with US unlock firmware. I am using it on AT&T now. Hopefully buyer don't report stolen. Unpaid phone can still be using on other networks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not when it's SIM locked to Sprint.