When we buy a new phone on offer on the Internet, we will have to carefully check that it has not already been used and offered for sale "as new", relying on the carelessness of users (who, barring obvious external damages, could struggle to recognize a product new from used one). To avoid this type of scams, simply follow a few simple steps immediately after making the purchase or after the arrival of the sent package: in this guide we have collected all the steps to follow to check if a mobile phone is used or has been used, even just for once. In this way we will always be able to know if the smartphone or the simple mobile phone we have in our hands was sold by an honest seller or we have been the victim of a scam (since selling used products as new is a crime).
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In the same screen we can choose whether to filter the results with all new products or whether to also display products sold as used or reconditioned, simply by adding a check mark to the desired condition in the Condition section.
On eBay, on the other hand, we must carefully check the product description, especially if we participate in an auction (used products are rarely offered for sale in the Buy It Now mode).
If the word New appears in the Condition field, we are about to purchase a phone that has never been used before.
Obviously this does not completely protect against scams (someone could always try to pass off a used but well-kept phone again), but at least we will avoid making unpleasant figures of the type "I thought it was new, instead the seller clearly wrote that the phone It was used".
For eBay and Amazon we also recommend reading our two guides on How to Buy on eBay avoiding scams and the Amazon guarantee reimburses the money spent within two years .
Check the appearance of the phone
After receiving the phone, the first thing to check is the outward appearance of the box, accessories and the phone itself.
A new box (never opened) should have a guarantee seal on both sides, so that anyone who opens it will be the first to "get their hands on it". The lack of seals should make us miss the first alarm bell, even more evident if the seals are present and cut or torn (some manufacturers do not put external seals so the problem does not exist).
The second clue about the condition of the phone are the accessories: they should be present in the box with i
their seals and wrapping blocks: if we see some messy or bulked wire, there is a risk that the accessories have been replaced with poor quality products or worse still not working.
The last check is on the phone itself: as soon as it comes out of the box for the first time it should present protective films (in some cases with descriptive writing of the phone hardware) on both sides and on the rear camera, a clear sign that nobody has it touched. Even just the removal of a single film and its "clumsy" repositioning can be indications of a used phone.
Check the IMEI
The scammer could very well put up for sale a perfect phone in every aspect, even if used. In this case, after passing the tests on the external appearance, we must carry out a check on the phone's IMEI, so as to check if it is already associated with an operator or reported as stolen / missing.To do this we recover the IMEI of our phone from the box or directly from the smartphone and enter the 15-digit code on the Numbering Plans website.
After entering the code in the appropriate field, we click on Analyze ; we will be provided with various information about the phone, including a graphic index called the IMEI Validity Assessment . If the cursor inside this item is in the yellow or red area, it means that the telephone has certainly been used and probably the IMEI has already been reported to the various operators, who have provided for the preventive block.
In this case we are faced with a scam with a stolen or missing phone : we just have to report everything to the Carabinieri and the Police, so we can start investigating the case.
Check the warranty
If the IMEI check is also passed, the last (decisive) test concerns the guarantee. If the phone is sold as new, it will be entitled to a 2-year legal warranty. The warranty starts from the moment of purchase, therefore carrying out a warranty check will give us certainty about the condition of the smartphone or phone chosen.
In order to check the warranty, we recover the IMEI and the serial number of the phone (from the box or from the phone information in the Settings app) and enter the required numbers on the following sites (depending on the phone manufacturer):
- Apple
- Samsung
- Huawei
- Xiaomi
- Lenovo
If our manufacturer is not among those mentioned above, we start a Google search by typing "warranty check
Conclusions
Since nowadays "trusting is good but not trusting is better", we advise you to carefully check your new phone or latest generation smartphone when we make the purchase on an online e-commerce site: losing just a few minutes of your time you will be able to immediately understand if you have purchased a 100% new product or we are faced with a used product passed off as new (a scam therefore).For this reason, when buying online, we advise you to carefully follow the advice described in our guide on How to buy online safely and with guarantee, so as to significantly reduce the risks of fraud.
If, on the other hand, we have lost our smartphone and want to prevent it from being resold as new (making you complicit in a scam), we advise you to follow the steps described in our in-depth analysis Lost smartphone: all the things to do .
