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Purchased a brand new EVO 3D off a guy on craigslist who swore it was all good. Called Sprint only to find out it has been reported as Lost or Stolen.
Guy of course will not return my calls now. What I can't believe is I asked if I could return the phone to Sprint so they can handle it, if it was stolen to return to the original owner or if reported lost it can now be found. They simply have no policy in place that allows for this.
So I'm basically screwed and have to try my luck selling a bad ESN phone on ebay (of course I will clearly list it as BAD ESN).
ort84 said:
Purchased a brand new EVO 3D off a guy on craigslist who swore it was all good. Called Sprint only to find out it has been reported as Lost or Stolen.
Guy of course will not return my calls now. What I can't believe is I asked if I could return the phone to Sprint so they can handle it, if it was stolen to return to the original owner or if reported lost it can now be found. They simply have no policy in place that allows for this.
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Maybe try calling back and talking to another associate. Or taking it to a local Sprint store. Or posting an ad somewhere, or with the local police department.
What an honorable thing to do though! I hope if I ever lose a phone, someone like you finds it.
That sucks bro, i know you can flag bad esn phones to metro pcs and cricket so you can market that in your eBay ad and still get top dollar for the phone. Best thing you can do in the future is have the seller meet you at Sprint saying you won't pay till its activated on your account or at least until the Sprint store confirms that it has a clean esn
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App
You should have called Sprint while in front of the guy and asked the rep if the phone was good. They will tell you if it has a good ESN or bad. When I bought my 4G, I called them right in front of the guy I bought it from. Just a FYI from now on.
Edit: I guess that only works if you meet them to pick it up. I would never buy something off Craigs List any other way. The few times I have purchased something from someone on Craigs, I met them in person.
sbrownla said:
Maybe try calling back and talking to another associate. Or taking it to a local Sprint store. Or posting an ad somewhere, or with the local police department.
What an honorable thing to do though! I hope if I ever lose a phone, someone like you finds it.
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I got a call back from Sprint to ask about my experience with the representative (who tried everything to help me, even told me about the buyback program that I could try) and I asked again and was told unfortunately they simply have no procedure/policy in place for such a thing.
They basically just take it as a loss and thank you I appreciate that. I would love if I lost my phone that someone would try to return it too so I tried doing right by whoever had the phone stolen or lost. I believe in Karma, the bastard who ripped me off will get his dues!
Sh0wNuF said:
That sucks bro, i know you can flag bad esn phones to metro pcs and cricket so you can market that in your eBay ad and still get top dollar for the phone. Best thing you can do in the future is have the seller meet you at Sprint saying you won't pay till its activated on your account or at least until the Sprint store confirms that it has a clean esn
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App
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Thanks for the advice, will follow it without a doubt should I ever decide to buy another phone off craigslist lol
I have bought several phones on craigslist and sold them too, I usually call sprint and activated before I give then the money and I do the same for the other person, what a douch the dude that did that, but you can still sell it on ebay for a few bucks for cricket
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
ort84 said:
Purchased a brand new EVO 3D off a guy on craigslist who swore it was all good. Called Sprint only to find out it has been reported as Lost or Stolen.
Guy of course will not return my calls now. What I can't believe is I asked if I could return the phone to Sprint so they can handle it, if it was stolen to return to the original owner or if reported lost it can now be found. They simply have no policy in place that allows for this.
So I'm basically screwed and have to try my luck selling a bad ESN phone on ebay (of course I will clearly list it as BAD ESN).
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Dude, I live in Miami too.
We should find this guy and **** him up.
I live in Miami too. Add me to the list.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
Dude. You do realize you can trace his number right?
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App
Yeah, I think I would talk to the police and give them a copy of the CL ad (if you have it) and the guys number. You might never get your money back, but maybe you can get him arrested.
Or you could try to trace the number, get his address and open up a can of whip-ass on him. It's not like he will report you to the police. "Yeah, I sold this guy some stolen stuff and he assaulted me." LOL
Google reverse phone lookup. You might be able to get their address from the number like others said. That sucks though..
Miami here...and add me to the Flash Mob!!... To the FBI if reading this: its a joke calm down lol
You guys are awesome. I'm in Louisiana and if I wasnt so far away you could have added me to the list also. Nothing more I hate than a thief and a liar.
Sent from my s-off rooted HTC Flyer using XDA Premium app
Thanks everyone for the support! I really appreciate it. Turns out he was using a textfree service number so no luck there; not that I was going to confront him. Rather lose some money then the possibility of the guy carrying a weapon and using it against me.
It is MIAMI, crazy fools out here!
Thanks again for all the kind support though guys, I feel a lot better and I already managed to sell the phone on ebay. Made sure buyer understood Sprint would not activate it and he is none the less happy with his purchase.
What a bummer man, I'm sorry that happened to you. I use Craigslist all the time to buy and sell phones. Never had s problem yet but I always get the esn before ill even meet the person. But for sure you can flash it to metro pcs and sell it that way. I'm in Detroit and people will post that their phone has a bad esn and people still buy them all day long..
Sent from my PG86100
Maybe you can go into the EPST and see what the previous owner's email/phone number was. Or maybe some files on the SD card will give you a clue.
Or post an ad in the found section of Craigs but say you'll only give it to the person who has the box with the IMEI number on it.
Sent from the third dementia...
Definitely, call the police and report this. Since it is a new phone, you may be able to get a felony charged to him. Isn't theft of items over $500 a felony? The phone new is is $550 bucks. That is a felony. Please do it. People like that do not deserve any ounce of niceness, pity, or the right to vote. Please, please report him. I know how you feel. I was scammed once like this. A guy my sister knew(not really a friend just someone she knew) said he needed money pay rent or he was going to be evicted and he could trade a Wal-Mart gift card for the cash. He had a $300 gift card and needed $100 bucks to pay rent. So I thought why not because I can check the balance of the card before I give him the cash. And that the gift card is only good to him if he buy something at Walmart and not to pay rent. Plus my sister said he was a cool guy. I meet him and he dials his phone on speaker to check the balance of the card. The balance on a card comes to just at $300. So, I'm like awesome I've helped someone out and got a nice deal. I get home and start shopping on Walmart.com for a TV I've been wanting. I go to check out and the card says there's insufficient funds available on it. Turns out that the guy switched the cards. I was pissed. My sister found out that he had a drug problem and he had done this to other "friends". I reported him and he was arrested. He had done it to at least 4 other people. I should have checked the balance myself, but since my sister said he was cool, I thought hearing it from his phone was enough to be legit. Being scammed does make one feel dumb, but they have practice at doing it. They make it their job. And we all tend to get good at our jobs. Please report him. I feel for you, bro. Good luck.
-Ken
I hate to hear stories like this. I have followed up on (3) incidents involving cell phone fraud/abuse/theft and can verify (1) arrest from it. Cell phone companies will take the loss in lost/stolen equipment but there is no limits to what you can do personally in exacting justice on these criminals.
Always remember: Evil prevails when good men do nothing...
I wish you the best in this situation, however I do agree that doing anything that would endanger personal safety is not worth it...
Um... call the police?
Just a thought though...
I could be WAY off on this one.
SpartanEvo said:
Always remember: Evil prevails when good men do nothing...
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I like that. Is that a quote from someone else?
Good day to all. So I bought this photon a couple months ago to give to my daughter or just have a spare cause don't have insurance on the phones. The esn was clear. When I went to switch activate it sprint said it had a bad esn! They couldn't do nothing for me. Sprint also told me I can take it into a shop and they can flash it. Does anybody no about this or can someone post a link or something?
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
Where did you buy it from? Bad esn numbers occur for one of two reasons. The phone has been reported stolen, or it is already currently activated on another subscribers account.
I bought it on the street but it was clear when I did. The sprint guy told me it might of got reported lost/stolen after that.
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I guess what they mean by "flash it" is to put it on another carrier like cricket or metropcs
Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2
Do you think some how it can be flashed back to sprint? Cause that's what I thought too?
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
Not really if they marked out as bad esn, then no.
sorry dude you got burned. How much did you pay for it.?
Google talk me for help or question. @ [email protected]
jomatine said:
The esn was clear. When I went to switch activate it sprint said it had a bad esn! They couldn't do nothing for me. Sprint also told me I can take it into a shop and they can flash it. Does anybody no about this or can someone post a link or something?
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
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How did you know it was a good ESN?
The only people who can tell you about the ESN status are Sprint CSRs. A seller is probably going to lie about it.
Bad ESNs mostly occur due to subscribers cancelling their accounts and leaving unpaid balances. You can call Sprint and try to find out why it has a bad ESN; if it was due to an unpaid balance you might be able to work out a deal with them. If it was reported stolen, then you might want to contact the seller and find out what's going on.
Just FYI: I purchased my Photon from CL, but I make it a point to always meet inside the official store. I have purchased three smartphones from CL, I met all of them inside the store and completed the deal outside after confirming that it was working. There were plenty of sellers who would refuse to meet at such a public place during the day time; it immediately throws up a red flag. One seller even tried to get me to meet 'her' at midnight, saying that her shift ends at that time. I asked 'her' to meet me during the day and never heard back from her.
With a bad ESN, you are SOL. There is nothing that anyone can do, except flash it to a different network and use it there. I believe Cricket or Boost runs on the same Sprint network or frequency bands. if you have invested a few hundred dollars on this, you might tell Sprint that you are willing to spend $40-$100 to clear a previous unpaid balance. Call again and again and see if you get a different answer.
However, I did manage to get sprint to clear the esn with a palm pre once. I bought from eBay and it was a bad esn. Called them, explained the situation and they put in a ticket and called me back in a couple days. They put in yetanother ticket, called me back in another couple days to inform me it was good to go. It is worth a shot, give them a call!
Well I knew it was good cause I called it in. I had it sitting for a few months (un touched) then I called to switch the # to it and all of a sudden it was bad. But I'll see if I flash it and sell it on CL. But after I do some research on y it has a bad esn. Thanks guys for the info.
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
I buy wholesale lots of phones and resell them individually on ebay. Now I have to check IMEIs on ATT and T-Mobile since they started this whole blacklist bullcrap. The bad thing is that AT&T won't give me information or tell me if phones are blacklisted or not. They'll tell me to "bring it into your local store and they can check it". I know the only reason they do this is because the store will take it away from me if it shows up as a lost or stolen device. Eff that. I already paid money for it, I can at least sell it for parts or try to get my money back!
I was on AT&T chat today, and I heard a new one that I can't understand: "It is an at&t phone but it's from a resellers account that means the service provider of that phone only buy cellphone service from us at&t that they provide to theyre customers. So with that, the account the phone came from is not directly connected with us for me to identify if the phone is cleared to be bought or not. I am sorry though."
...what does that even mean? It's an i717 Note for AT&T, so I'm confused.
Also, if I got AT&T and T-Mobile prepaid plans, could I use those SIMs to check the phones and see if they worked? This new blacklisting database is really making life difficult for me...
In sorry for the hardship for you as an independent seller but I'm beyond happy about the new black list as a consumer who has had his new phone stolen and T-Mobile basically said "oh well".
It's about time they implemented this.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
mooglepimp said:
I buy wholesale lots of phones and resell them individually on ebay. Now I have to check IMEIs on ATT and T-Mobile since they started this whole blacklist bullcrap. The bad thing is that AT&T won't give me information or tell me if phones are blacklisted or not. They'll tell me to "bring it into your local store and they can check it". I know the only reason they do this is because the store will take it away from me if it shows up as a lost or stolen device. Eff that. I already paid money for it, I can at least sell it for parts or try to get my money back!
I was on AT&T chat today, and I heard a new one that I can't understand: "It is an at&t phone but it's from a resellers account that means the service provider of that phone only buy cellphone service from us at&t that they provide to theyre customers. So with that, the account the phone came from is not directly connected with us for me to identify if the phone is cleared to be bought or not. I am sorry though."
...what does that even mean? It's an i717 Note for AT&T, so I'm confused.
Also, if I got AT&T and T-Mobile prepaid plans, could I use those SIMs to check the phones and see if they worked? This new blacklisting database is really making life difficult for me...
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It's likely a straight talk device, or a device from a reseller.
Basically, even though it's an ATT device, it was sold buy a reseller account, and not ATT. Even if it runs on the ATT network.
they dont keep the IMEI numbers from reseller phones, only the ones they sell directly, so they cant release an IMEI number for use on the network, because they have no record of it to release.
Clear as mud ?....LOL
But a prepaid sim should fire up, with the right APN settings...g
uoY_redruM said:
In sorry for the hardship for you as an independent seller but I'm beyond happy about the new black list as a consumer who has had his new phone stolen and T-Mobile basically said "oh well".
It's about time they implemented this.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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Although I can empathize with you....it seems that they are doing nothing but screwing over the person who buys a resold phone. Nothing they do will protect you as the person who got it stolen, and they make is SOOOOO DIFFICULT to check the IMEI that it really just screws over the buyer who got a blacklisted phone and now can't do anything about it :-/
So my dad bought an HTC One off of Craigslist brand new a few months ago. Today, it randomly stopped recog izing the Sim. It turns out that the original owners decided to call in the device as stolen and got theirs replaced from their insurance. He called T-Mobile and they said that there's nothing they can do about this.
Is there any way to make the phone usable again? Changing the IMEI, flashing a custom ROM, or whatever. Everything works, except the SIM is not recognized.
Thanks for your help.
Your SOL. You won't get imei changing help on XDA. Advise I seen given in this situation, is to sell it overseas as it useless in AT&T too.
HTC One
You're screwed, unlock it if you can. Hopefully it was fully paid for so you can do that, then like the other guy said sell it on Ebay to someone overseas. Be honest and say it's blocked. It will still sell. The thieves have a good racket going, and the carriers refuse to stop it by adding kill switches.
jawmail said:
You're screwed, unlock it if you can. Hopefully it was fully paid for so you can do that, then like the other guy said sell it on Ebay to someone overseas. Be honest and say it's blocked. It will still sell. The thieves have a good racket going, and the carriers refuse to stop it by adding kill switches.
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What would adding kill switches do. ? You take your chances with buying from Cl just this last month I had two htc ones and a iPhone 5. Switched back to a used HTC one and have had no issues. I've met every one of those people at the store. The thing is the system will only grant someone a warranty or insurance claim on a device used last. If enough time passes or the other person registers a new phone the insurance/ warranty system will register a new device. Any claims on the only one will be invalid. I believe scammers are waiting just long enough before that or not registering new devices to their account so they can still claim the device as lost or stolen.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
monkeypaws said:
What would adding kill switches do. ? You take your chances with buying from Cl just this last month I had two htc ones and a iPhone 5. Switched back to a used HTC one and have had no issues. I've met every one of those people at the store. The thing is the system will only grant someone a warranty or insurance claim on a device used last. If enough time passes or the other person registers a new phone the insurance/ warranty system will register a new device. Any claims on the only one will be invalid. I believe scammers are waiting just long enough before that or not registering new devices to their account so they can still claim the device as lost or stolen.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
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Kill switches would prevent the phone from being used domestically and possibly internationally. Similar to how Verizon does it by locking the phone IMEI or MEID whatever they call it on Verizon phones. If you buy one that's locked it "lost or stolen" and doesn't work on their network.
Read this, explains what might be done if the carriers agree. Right now they make too much money from insurance to care. Don't know if I can post links but Google 'cell phone kill switch'. http://www.today.com/money/push-get-kill-switch-smartphones-2D11897060
I ran into this a while back with a GS3 on TMO.
Heres what usually happens. Scammer has insurance on his phone. Sells it to you. Then waits up to 30 days to file a claim. Lost / Stolen.
Once a claim has been filed they have an additional 180 days to pay the deductible and finalize the claim. Once that happens the IMEI gets entered into the system and bam you have a WiFi only device.
I went to the TMO store by my office and spoke with a manager.. The system is flawed in favor of the insurance companies and carriers.
I can prove that unit was active and in use on my account for 3 months before it got shut off. Yet TMO refuses to do anything.
I emailed Assurion twice to let them know the user who filed the IMEI as lost/stolen was performing insurance fraud and it fell on deaf ears.
Why? Because they keep selling the monthly subscription to the scammers and honest users plus they collect the deductible.
Carriers wont do anything because most of the time it forces the user who got scammed to buy buy a new phone.. Rarely will they change carriers. So TMO still gets paid.
IAmSixNine said:
I ran into this a while back with a GS3 on TMO.
Heres what usually happens. Scammer has insurance on his phone. Sells it to you. Then waits up to 30 days to file a claim. Lost / Stolen.
Once a claim has been filed they have an additional 180 days to pay the deductible and finalize the claim. Once that happens the IMEI gets entered into the system and bam you have a WiFi only device.
I went to the TMO store by my office and spoke with a manager.. The system is flawed in favor of the insurance companies and carriers.
I can prove that unit was active and in use on my account for 3 months before it got shut off. Yet TMO refuses to do anything.
I emailed Assurion twice to let them know the user who filed the IMEI as lost/stolen was performing insurance fraud and it fell on deaf ears.
Why? Because they keep selling the monthly subscription to the scammers and honest users plus they collect the deductible.
Carriers wont do anything because most of the time it forces the user who got scammed to buy buy a new phone.. Rarely will they change carriers. So TMO still gets paid.
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Yes that is very typical. It's so sad they do not stop the theft and the fraud. It will happen it's only a matter of time.
Nothing you can do. Sorry but that's just how it is. I refuse to buy any phone that's not from the company I'm with. That being tmobile. That way I have a record of buying my phone and they can't block it
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Sucks man.
I'd say to check your imei against the stolen registries, but that wouldn't have done you any good.
Sent from my LG-V510 using xda app-developers app
If you have even a phone number or any contact information from when your dad bought the phone, you should report the seller to the FBI or your local US Attorney's Office and perhaps even attempt to file a lawsuit for fraud. I'm shocked that people are willing to commit federal crimes for $300.
Actually you are all wrong, Any locked/blocked/stolen/blacklisted tmobile phone be unlocked for att, Tmobile only blacklisted on there own network, I am currently using a blocked htc one that checkesnfree.com says it blocked by tmobile and it says no service when I put in my tmobile sim card, I bought an unlock code form ebay for $4 and am currently using the tmobile htc one on H2o wireless (atat) towers
works perfect
jqwest said:
Actually you are all wrong, Any locked/blocked/stolen/blacklisted tmobile phone be unlocked for att, Tmobile only blacklisted on there own network, I am currently using a blocked htc one that checkesnfree.com says it blocked by tmobile and it says no service when I put in my tmobile sim card, I bought an unlock code form ebay for $4 and am currently using the tmobile htc one on H2o wireless (atat) towers
works perfect
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Actually, you're mistaken.
A "blocked" device on T-Mobile is still usable on AT&T. A "blocked" device is not a blacklisted device, and therefor is eligible for use on another carrier (not MVNO of the blocked carrier).
A device can only be blacklisted if it has been reported as lost or stolen. If the device is just blocked on T-Mobile, then it wasn't reported as lost or stolen.
I buy used phones as a business and if a tmobile phone is blacklisted/lost/stolen/blocked for non payment. they only blackliston tmobile cell towers. This is fact any bad tmobile phone after unlocked can be used on atat regardless of imei status with tmobile, Im currently using a tmobile htc one that is blacklisted/blocked by tmobile, Im using it on atat
Anyone know why that might be other than buyer misreading a number? What is the first thing I should investigate here? Thanks
Sent from my HTC One_M8
I just realized that I don't have imei number and that they could swap my good one out for a bad one and send it back to me no? Is that a scam people do or is that a silly idea? Shouldn't T-Mobile be able to provide it to me even with it being on an old phone?
Sent from my HTC One_M8
How did you sell it? Like through swappa, ebay, craigslist? Did you include the original box with it? Compare the ESN/IMEI with what's on the box. As well as compare it to whats underneath the battery. He could swap it with another phone that isn't the one you gave them. But its pretty easy to tell. I really don't know the full situation so i can't give you a very thought out opinion about the scenario.
juntjoo said:
I just realized that I don't have imei number
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I can't imagine not making a note of the IMEI before selling a phone. But anyway, do you have a backup from the phone? A good backup will contain the serial number and IMEI. Otherwise the original receipt. Or ask your carrier to check their records.
.
Buyer hasn't got back to me. Hopefully they've figured it out.
Sent from my HTC One_M8
I sold my TMO S5 that I had unlocked and I was using on ATT to someone on Swappa, they guy never closed the sale and after having the device for over a month he sends me a message over swappa stating that the device was reported stolen, and now he doesn't have signal. I talked to the person I bought it from (A store around here) and he was like I sold you that new it cant be reported stolen, long story short today I received the S5 back after I had to refund the guy his 510.00 and the store I bought it from is waiting for the phone and he said if he has to replace it he will do what ever he can to work with me.,
I think its bull and I honestly believe that the guy who bought it for me just put insurance via TMO and then reported it lost or stolen and now he got back his 510.00 and he only had to pay a deductible to get a S5. Seem like a great deal for him. No matter how much I tried to contact the guy asking him to close the sale he never ever replied.
Sorry about the post was kinda venting out a little.
Hope you can solve your issue.
IcOpRo said:
I sold my TMO S5 that I had unlocked and I was using on ATT to someone on Swappa, they guy never closed the sale and after having the device for over a month he sends me a message over swappa stating that the device was reported stolen, and now he doesn't have signal. I talked to the person I bought it from (A store around here) and he was like I sold you that new it cant be reported stolen, long story short today I received the S5 back after I had to refund the guy his 510.00 and the store I bought it from is waiting for the phone and he said if he has to replace it he will do what ever he can to work with me.,
I think its bull and I honestly believe that the guy who bought it for me just put insurance via TMO and then reported it lost or stolen and now he got back his 510.00 and he only had to pay a deductible to get a S5. Seem like a great deal for him. No matter how much I tried to contact the guy asking him to close the sale he never ever replied.
Sorry about the post was kinda venting out a little.
Hope you can solve your issue.
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Click to collapse
Why did you refund his money if he never closed out the sale within a month?
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
IcOpRo said:
I sold my TMO S5 that I had unlocked and I was using on ATT to someone on Swappa, they guy never closed the sale and after having the device for over a month he sends me a message over swappa stating that the device was reported stolen, and now he doesn't have signal. I talked to the person I bought it from (A store around here) and he was like I sold you that new it cant be reported stolen, long story short today I received the S5 back after I had to refund the guy his 510.00 and the store I bought it from is waiting for the phone and he said if he has to replace it he will do what ever he can to work with me.,
I think its bull and I honestly believe that the guy who bought it for me just put insurance via TMO and then reported it lost or stolen and now he got back his 510.00 and he only had to pay a deductible to get a S5. Seem like a great deal for him. No matter how much I tried to contact the guy asking him to close the sale he never ever replied.
Sorry about the post was kinda venting out a little.
Hope you can solve your issue.
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Click to collapse
Last i remember, you can't put insurance on a phone that T-Mobile did not sell the person directly. You would have to buy from T-Mobile in order to get insurance added to the device.
If you got the device back, why not test it? Also, go to T-Mobile and show them the sale on Swappa. Personally, i think the guy you got the phone from is the one who reported it stolen. Hell, they themselves could have actually stolen it from the store.