How to Find Out if an iPhone You Are Buying is Stolen or Not

Uzair Ghani
iPhone stolen status

Not sure if the iPhone you are buying is stolen or not? Using an online tool, you can find out the iPhone stolen status using its IMEI number.

CTIA's Stolen Phone Checker Will Tell You iPhone Stolen Status Instantly

There are a lot of instances where you stumble upon an iPhone deal that's too good to be true. But some of the variables seem way too shady to ignore. The price for instance. While the market may be charging a premium, but how come your specific deal knocks off a couple of hundred bucks? There's a high probability that the iPhone in question you are about to buy was stolen in the first place. The person you are buying it from might be looking to make a quick buck or two off it. Of course, such a thing is a criminal offense. And once you get hold of that iPhone, you are indeed supporting a criminal act. So, in order to avoid such a situation, what can you do?

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A new online tool made by the CTIA, simply lets you enter your device's IMEI number, running a quick check through its database, telling you instantly whether or not the iPhone you're about to buy has been reported lost or stolen. If that turns out to be true, then you can simply take appropriate course of action by avoiding the sale altogether. Or, if you are looking to save someone's day, report the incident to concerning law enforcement authorities.

A smartphone's IMEI number is usually located on the back of the retail box itself. But if there isn't one, then you might want to dial a specific key combination to view it directly from the phone itself. On an iPhone, simply head over to Settings > General > About to view the device's IMEI number. Simply write down the code on the CTIA website and you'll know the stolen status of the iPhone you are about to buy.

Now that this tool is well under your radar, it's good practice to make do with it whenever someone is looking to buy an iPhone off extremely unofficial retail channels. It's very embarrassing to grab hold of a product that has been reported lost or stolen in the first place. So please, save yourself a handful of trouble and give this tool a spin before making your next iPhone purchase.

You can access the tool by heading over to: stolenphonechecker.org/spc/consumer

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