Every mobile phone has a unique serial number called IMEI. When you purchase a used phone, you can use this number to determine if the phone is stolen.
Instructions
Step 1
Turn off your phone. Open the cover of its battery compartment. Remove the battery. There is a sticker under it, where, among other data, the IMEI number is indicated. Rewrite it or photograph it. If you are using another phone for this, to improve focus when taking close-ups, lean an ordinary magnifier against its lens.
Step 2
Assemble the phone in reverse order. Turn it on. Dial the command * # 06 # on the keyboard. Despite the fact that it looks like a USSD command, in fact, it is not. When it is entered, nothing is transmitted to the base station. You do not need to press the call button after entering the command. The IMEI number will appear on the screen immediately after entering the last character of the command.
Step 3
Ask the seller for packaging and instructions for the phone you are purchasing. Find the IMEI number and in them.
Step 4
Compare the values of the IMEI numbers located on the sticker in the battery compartment, in the instructions or on the packaging, as well as in the permanent memory of the phone. If they match up to a single sign, the device is not stolen, and you can safely purchase it.
Step 5
To find out the IMEI number of a 3G modem, send the AT command AT + CGSN to it using any terminal program. Compare it with the number on the box and on the case of the modem (it has no battery compartment). However, such modems, due to their low cost, are extremely rare objects of theft.
Step 6
Even if you are a phone repair technician, remember that it is illegal to take any action to change the IMEI numbers of any GSM equipment all over the world (similar to how even a car mechanic is not allowed to change VIN numbers for cars). In many countries, including Russia, there have been precedents of bringing persons who carried out such actions to justice. All cases of detection of devices in the memory of which an obviously changed IMEI is stored (for example, completely or almost entirely consisting of only zeros) must be reported to the "K" department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
