TCF Launch Blacklisted IMEI Checker

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plambrechtsen

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#143255 8-Apr-2014 12:57

Just saw this:

http://www.tcf.org.nz/news/db04b334-93bc-4f97-bbda-fd70fb998df0.html

The New Zealand Telecommunications Forum (TCF) has today launched an online service that allows mobile phone users to check whether a handset has been blocked from use on New Zealand networks before they buy, saving innocent purchaser’s time and money.

ubergeeknz

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#1020583 8-Apr-2014 12:59

This is great to see, but when a phone is for sale the seller would have to publish the IMEI? How's that going to work I wonder :/ I thought sharing your IMEI was a bad idea.

macuser

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#1020585 8-Apr-2014 13:01

ubergeeknz: This is great to see, but when a phone is for sale the seller would have to publish the IMEI? How's that going to work I wonder :/ I thought sharing your IMEI was a bad idea.

Surely they could just enter it into trademe when selling, and then trademe would allow the auction to be published only if the phone isn't blocked

l43a2

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#1020587 8-Apr-2014 13:02

Trademe could hook into this and the phone seller has to input the number for it to be verified before sale on their website, it would at least help reduce stolen phone sales maybe?

hairy1

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#1020589 8-Apr-2014 13:03

As a purchaser of a stolen handset on trademe I won't purchase on there until it is cleaned up. This is a good start.

Cheers, Matt.

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hio77

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#1020600 8-Apr-2014 13:13

l43a2: Trademe could hook into this and the phone seller has to input the number for it to be verified before sale on their website, it would at least help reduce stolen phone sales maybe?

would love to see this happen, would be a huge step forward in prevention.

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ubergeeknz

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#1020616 8-Apr-2014 13:20

hio77:
l43a2: Trademe could hook into this and the phone seller has to input the number for it to be verified before sale on their website, it would at least help reduce stolen phone sales maybe?

would love to see this happen, would be a huge step forward in prevention.

Definitely, that's a great idea.

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l43a2

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#1020625 8-Apr-2014 13:28

well i sent them an email so that's a start :P

plambrechtsen

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#1020626 8-Apr-2014 13:28

I've just emailed my friend who is a developer at Trademe.. I'll let everyone know how I get on.

l43a2

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#1020628 8-Apr-2014 13:29

plambrechtsen: I've just emailed my friend who is a developer at Trademe.. I'll let everyone know how I get on.

ah yes this mite get abit further then my email to general support :P haha

plambrechtsen

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#1020632 8-Apr-2014 13:32

l43a2:
plambrechtsen: I've just emailed my friend who is a developer at Trademe.. I'll let everyone know how I get on.

ah yes this mite get abit further then my email to general support :P haha

I would hope so :) he works on the TM App on iDevices/Android and have bugged him about this issue a number of times in the past. But now there is a portal run by an independent body rather than TM needing to get individual feeds from each provider things should be much simpler.

allio

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#1020639 8-Apr-2014 13:52

l43a2: Trademe could hook into this and the phone seller has to input the number for it to be verified before sale on their website, it would at least help reduce stolen phone sales maybe?

Great idea, but I think its value is limited unless you can somehow confirm that the IMEI the seller is inputting is actually linked to the phone they're selling. You can buy phones for $20 these days - what's to stop phone thieves spending a few hundred bucks on an armful bargain-basement phones with valid IMEIs and then entering their details into their auctions over and over?

Having had a look at the Wiki page for IMEIs, there are certain details contained within the code, including manufacturer. If TradeMe could factor that into the verification it'd be a start, but it would be better if they could confirm the actual phone model from the IMEI. Not sure if that's possible. TradeMe could also put a limit on the number of times a phone with a given IMEI can be sold within a certain time period.

I think the best use for this service is when buying a phone in person. Before handing your money over, spend 5 minutes to enter *#06# and look up the result.

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macuser

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#1020643 8-Apr-2014 13:58

allio:
l43a2: Trademe could hook into this and the phone seller has to input the number for it to be verified before sale on their website, it would at least help reduce stolen phone sales maybe?

Great idea, but I think its value is limited unless you can somehow confirm that the IMEI the seller is inputting is actually linked to the phone they're selling. You can buy phones for $20 these days - what's to stop phone thieves spending a few hundred bucks on an armful bargain-basement phones with valid IMEIs and then entering their details into their auctions over and over?

Having had a look at the Wiki page for IMEIs, there are certain details contained within the code, including manufacturer. If TradeMe could factor that into the verification it'd be a start, but it would be better if they could confirm the actual phone model from the IMEI. Not sure if that's possible. TradeMe could also put a limit on the number of times a phone with a given IMEI can be sold within a certain time period.

I think the best use for this service is when buying a phone in person. Before handing your money over, spend 5 minutes to enter *#06# and look up the result.

The checker that the TCF has includes model number, if this matches the product description then Trademe will allow you to proceed

The only downside is that if the stolen phone is added to trademe before the IEMI is reported blocked and added to the system, there may be cases where devices are still able to pass through this checker.

[update]

I guess the best solution would be to have Auctions run for a minimum of 7 days, where the IMEI is constantly checked against the data base throughout the duration of the auction.

plambrechtsen

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#1020649 8-Apr-2014 14:09

macuser: I guess the best solution would be to have Auctions run for a minimum of 7 days, where the IMEI is constantly checked against the data base throughout the duration.

Or check 1 hour before closing to make sure it's still valid, and then when closing the trade that it's still valid. And if it wasn't then stop the trade from completing and report the trader.

Then you can also email the winner the IMEI (as you wouldn't really want that publicly posted) so they could check themselves.

And even have the option to have the money held by TradeMe in escrow and not released to the Seller until the buyer confirms the IMEI is the same as what was listed and the phone works.

It's really not that hard to do.