Is there an easy way to tell if a phone you're about to buy off some random person, say on Craigslist or Ebay, is stolen? (eg: to avoid getting scammed and buying a phone that is useless, being stuck with it, and not being able to track the person down?)
A little better would be to meet the person at the carrier's store and they can check the esn for you. If you are buying off eBay make sure the score and rating of the seller is worthy and purchase thru paypal for a little extra security of your money on the transaction. Just a few thoughts.
You can call the carrier and give them the imei and they'll be able to tell you if that number has been reported stolen. You just have to hope they gave you the real number for that phone.
