posted on April 20, 2005 04:58:00 AM
I listed some NIB cell phones for a friend of mine. I've never dealt with selling cell phones and I've had a steady stream of questions coming in asking for the "esn" of the phones. I know what the "esn" is but what legitimate reason would a bidder want to know the esn for? And would you give it out?
posted on April 20, 2005 05:08:16 AM
Maybe they want to find out if the phones are stolen? Or, they could want to find out if their current carrier can activate it. Could be for a number of reasons.
posted on April 20, 2005 06:29:54 AM
the op wrote this...
"I listed some NIB cel phones..." ,and, "I know what the "esn" is but what legitimate reason would a bidder want to know the esn for? And would you give it out?"
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following c/pasted....
What Is Cell Phone Cloning Fraud?
Every cell phone is supposed to have a
unique factory-set electronic serial number (ESN) and telephone number (MIN). A cloned cell phone is one that has been reprogrammed to transmit the ESN and MIN belonging to another (legitimate) cell phone. Unscrupulous people can obtain valid ESN/MIN combinations by illegally monitoring the radio wave transmissions from the cell phones of legitimate subscribers. After cloning, both the legitimate and the fraudulent cell phones have the same ESN/MIN combination and cellular systems cannot distinguish the cloned cell phone from the legitimate one. The legitimate phone user then gets billed for the cloned phone's calls. Call your carrier if you think you have been a victim of cloning fraud.[end c/paste]
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if you are aware of the above; then IMHO, you should understand the "questioners" probably dont want to get screwed by an unscrupulous seller on ebay....
and, if they are NIB, how do you have access to the numbers...dont make sense to me.
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mot
mot
[ edited by myoldtoy on Apr 20, 2005 06:31 AM ]
posted on April 20, 2005 04:12:11 PM
I've been asked that question. When I asked the questioner why they wanted to know, they dropped off the face of the planet. Could they possibly want to clone the phone I'm selling?
Anyway, has anyone else had a problem getting paid for cell phones. I have very few NPB overall, but I think my cell phone percentage is 50%.
posted on April 22, 2005 08:24:47 PM
Got accused of running a scam today because I didn't give out the ESN. Is it true that digital phones can't be cloned with the ESN number like in the "old" days?
I would feel bad not giving out information if it is legitimately required to see if the phone is compatible. Maybe I'd feel more secure if the guy asking didn't have private feedback
