i found a cell phone...
 

i found a cell phone the other day in a parking lot. i want to keep it cause it is a cool phone. so i turned it off and i am goin to wait a couple more days before i turn it back on. i am gonna wait until they cancel their service. is this bad? finders keepers right?

It's a trap! Some evil phone company executive probably dropped it there on purpose, with the evil intent of tricking a young fellow into buying a phone plan thing... Beware!

do you really need us to tell you the answer? what do your morals say?

Unlike some other lost items, its pretty easy to trace the ownership of a cell phone.

I think you should return it.

mike21, how would you feel if you had something you thought was 'cool' and lost it? Would you want someone to return it if found or would you rather they kept your item?

Check the names and numbers that are saved. Call them and find out who's phone it is and return it. Who knows, maybe there will be a reward or there will be a hot chick's number saved that you could hook up with :D

agrees with dimbulb

Keep it if you want to, you don't need us to tell you what to do. I'm sure you will do the right thing.......(keep it) ;)

listen to Kaos, he's got the right idea :)

Personally I would get more satisfaction out of the gratitude of another person when they got their cellphone back than I would from a stupid electronic toy. But that's just me.

well...iwas lookin into the phone and it has a feature that allows it to be traced (by the company and 911) so i turned the feature off...but i don't know if it can be traced if i take it to a cell phone place to get a plan with it...anyway...i lost my wallet the other day(had about 300 cash in it)...and nobody returned it.....so this is my payback.....

Yeah thats right, take it out on someone who had nothing to do with you losing your wallet.

Edit: by the way i was joking when i said to keep it

That's brilliant logic. I think I will go to the coffee shop down the street and punch the girl behind the counter in the face. You know, to get back at that asshole who cut me off in his SUV this morning!

In my humble opinion, BAD KARMA! Try to put yourself in th other person's shoes fr a minute. What if that phone belonged to a guy whose wife is about to have a baby and needs it to find about her oing into labor or even worse, what if it belongs to someone waiting for a organ donor and its their emergency phone. Or maybe its just some rich little girls cell phone that her daddy bought her and she an replace it at the drop of the hat. Anyways, be in inegrity with yourself and try to return the phone, and if you cant find the owner then think about keeping it... But, its up to you

Your payback for losing your wallet is... losing your wallet. It's your fault. If the person who found your wallet had returned it to you, think how greatful you would be. Return the phone and help improve your kharma.
BTW, I'm not really up on cell phones, but I am pretty sure they each have a unique identifier. Maybe someone else here can tell us if a missing/stolen phone can be traced.

as long as the sim card's out of it, the phone is just a dumb piece of electronics. There may be a hardware tag on it somewhere, however.

try to return it, dude... karma will always come and bite you in the ass, so it's good to stave it off as strongly as possible. you don't want to be a dung beetle in your next life, do you?

IMHO you've already made up your mind to keep the phone, despite what we are going to tell you.

I'm kind of disappointed that the situation has gone this far (disabling security, etc.). You have consciously taken steps in stealing this phone. Yes, stealing. I would have returned the phone without a second thought, and before your conscience (and I know you have one) catches up with your faulty reasoning, I suggest you undo what you have done.

If you are feeling even the slightest pangs of guilt right now, you'll be rolling in your bed tonight, at the thought of making sure someone's bad day stays bad.

I hope this didn't come off as too harsh. I've had stuff stolen from me before, and stuff lost and never returned, but I am not going to descend to their level because of it.

you're not the only one Nizzle.

Just let us know when they trace the ESN and arrest you for wirelss phone fraud. Unless you have a fake identity with its own SSN, you're going to get caught. It doesn't matter if you turn the GPS off, that can be remotely overridden and they can find you. I doubt that they'd do it, but it's possible.

BTW, what kind of phone is it?

Hey, I found this jokers wallet the other day, I want to keep it cos it had like $300 in it. Do you think I should give it back, finders keepers, right?

Not nice

Would be very very funny if the owner reported it as stolen and you got busted with it. Would serve you right to have a criminal record.

That's what I do. They have it coming anyhow.

If it's got an address book, look for 'home' or 'wife' and tell them you found the phone. I know I'd be pissed.

No police agency in this world is going to trace a lost cellphone and arrest the person who found it. It's not a legal question, it's one of not being a complete bastard.

well, it looks like you've made up your mind to keep the phone. I'm VERY VERY SORRY, that the dear members of the TFP could not help you rationalize your decision to WILFULLY TAKE SOMEONE'S PROPERTY or was that STEALING? hmmm....

Not being able to return something you found because you could not trace the owner is one thing, but DISABLING the fone's tracing capability? not trying the names in the address book? Not reporting this to the police or to a lost and found?

What makes this even more disappointing is the fact that you lost a wallet with $300 some time ago, and you know the experience of someone not returning your belongings...

AND YOU STILL DO THIS TO SOMEONE ELSE?

and have the cheek to ask us if this was OK???

Heh, this is pretty damn funny. Obviously you should return it. If you notice that nobody around you respects you for your decisions, then maybe you should look into why.

so you drive your car to work or school some morning and, without noticing, drop your keys when you get out. I come along and find the keys sitting right next to the car so I try them. What do you know they fit! Now I drive away in your car because...well..."finders keepers".

How well do you think this would go over. Its pretty obvious I would be arrested rather quickly, and I am gussing you would probably press charges. Sure a car will get more police attention then a cell phone but the principle is the same. What you are doing is theft until you have tried everything you can think of to contact the phone's owner.

You are joking right? This SHOULD have been the exact reason as to why you WOULD want to return the cell phone. Don't be a thief, karma is a bitch.

I reckon you should take it to the police and if no-one claims it, it should be yours.....

As many of the others have said, you should turn it in.

if the phone doesn't use a sim card, its not gonna work for you anyways, they blacklist stolen or lost phones. like the others said, return it, you know how it feels to have something lost, why make someone else go through that kinda pain?

karma's a bitch, if you keep it you will be locked into a 2 year contract, and you will end up losing it the 2nd week you have it and have to buy a new one.

Plus the phones are f'in cheap man, they almost give them to you. Hell I have a drawer of old ones I just cant bear to throw away cause they were so damn expensive at the time.

if you do decide to keep it, I hope karma nails your ass. I hate thieves.

Imagine if it was your phone? You lost it... wouldn't that piss you off?

No imagine if someone actually handed it in... wouldn't you be happy.

Do the right thing.... hand the fukka in.

I agree. You should at least try to locate the owner before you decide to keep the phone. Maybe it is the guy who found your lost wallet? Who knows. Besides that, you can't use the phone anyway, so it makes no sense to keep it.

i would return it.
it will make u feel good. believe me.

I bet the person has already called their phone company and reported it lost, so it's probably useless right now. If you make any phone calls on the cell phone, besides ones trying to find the owner of the phone, then I bet you'll be getting into some legal trouble. But others have already said, you're minds already made up, and you think losing your wallet justifies taking someones lost cell phone.
I doubt any of us will feel sorry when it comes back to bite ya.

return it...it'll "make the world a better place" if everyone would be honest about these kind of things. but that's entirely up to you

god, what a bunch of moralists...transcend arbitrary social rules and show your superiority, live a little... seriously though, i agree that he should return the cellphone but mostly because the risk is greater than the return. i mean, would everyone here also return wallets full of money?

Start a trend, be honest.

I am with the "Bad Karma" people, return the phone no matter how cool of a phone it is.

Making a conscious effort to possess another person's belongings is theft. Theft is damaging to other people. This is not an arbitrary social rule. I don't know of any culture that condones theft.
Keeping a lost cellphone makes you superior? You're kidding, right? It takes much more strength to return something you found than to keep it. Most people would not waste their time returning something, even if they didn't want it for themselves. We live in a culture that is increasing in apathy and selfishness every day. Someone who can rise above that and do something nice for a change is clearly superior.
Yes, I would.

It amazes me when people try to justify theft. If you're stealing something, at least have the guts to admit that is what you are doing.

well, this morning...i looked through the phone book and there were no people in there(i guess cause its new) so i couldn't call anybody....so i took the phone the the place i found it and left it at the store with the manager...he told me that at the time no one had tried to claim the phone but he also said he will have to give it a couple of weeks before i can keep it....so while most of you were flaming me...i had been taking steps towards returning it..

*tsk tsk*

I commend you then.

No one here was flaming anyone. We were just trying to understand what you were thinking. From your earlier posts it sounded like you were being ignorant. But since you took steps towards returning it, you did the right thing.

I'm glad to hear it, Mike. It's always better to do the right thing - even if it hurts on the inside.

WTG :thumbsup:

I have already done so. Sure I could have just as easily taken the 200 or so out of it, and said i found it like that, but I'd be pissed if that happened to me, so I returned it as I found it. And obviously I had to look in it, as I was searching for a driver's license so I would know how to return it.

I was lots younger then and wanted a hefty award for it, but now I'm glad I returned it and didn't take any money.

MY "superiority" shows that I'm above taking shit that I know would piss me off if I were in their shoes, thank you very much.

Yeah man you gotta give it back or you will have bad joo joo.....

don't listen to all that good advice dude.
sell that puppy on, quick.
and make sure you don't know the guy you sell it too.

easy money. esp if its new.


lol

no, don't listen to me. give it back, and demand a reward...

the dark side is strong in this one. :-)

SMS me, and I shall become more powerful that you can possibly imagine :D

Glad to hear you're doing the right thing. In the long run, you'll be glad you did. :)

yeah, see, the first part was a joke about nietzsche and his ubermenschen, see i misapplied philosophical theory to a situation where it's clearly not intended. justifying petty theft is clearly not in the intent of nietzschean philosophy. funny... i should be a comedian. or not. sorry, i'll try and keep a lid on my rapacious wit.
but seriuosly, people who return wallets are better people than me and i salute you. i'm far too lost in the mire of social apathy. in all honesty, i wouldn't return a wallet. perhaps, i don't like my fellow human nearly enough. that said, i wouldn't necessarily take any money from it. i'd most likely just leave it and let someone else struggle with the moral dilemma. i'm not going to attempt to justify my actions because i don't really think that they are morally justifiable, but it's what i'd do in all honesty.

It may not be the most popular response but at least you are honest and IMHO leaving it for someone else to deal with is way better then theft ;)


As for you mike, nice work. Now just keep your fingers crossed and maybe no one will claim it :)

I'm also amused that everyone here chose the high road for someone else. Frankly I'd probably return the phone but mostly because cells are such shit these days, and I'm already under contract.

People, for some curious reason, are not usually that grateful when they get shit back. I've seen very few exceptions to this in my personal observations.

Eh, sorry you lost your $300 man, that definitely more than covered for the cost of the phone.

I am wondering why no one sees the phone as a way for the man to ingeniously lower his losses a little from the universe, or karmically, or whatever. You may consider that he's lost something which hasn't returned threefold, and kept something that isn't worth 1/4 of what he lost. It is a personal possession though.

Eh, I'm kind of just chuckling about it. But I am in some way pleased that you decided to look for the former owners.

You had to ask???

Maybe I'm too empathetic. I try to believe that anything I found was a prized item of its owner. I also try to believe that they are very poor and could barely afford it as it was. It makes it very difficult to keep something that isn't yours when you've been in that situation. You know that sinking feeling you get when you lose something of importance? I don't want to be the kind of person that causes that sinking feeling in others.

Contact your local Sheriff's department or YWCA and ask if they want them. Some will take them and give them to domestic violence victims to use in an emergency. Even the oldest, fattest phone can be used to call 911. (and if they are worth anything, you can claim it as a charitable donation)

/steps off his soapbox

Alas, i would give it back

First off because i would know i should, but also you will get FUC*ED by the phone companies if you take one of their plans but dont buy their phone along with it... thats just the way they roll

i found a cellphone on the beach, there was only one number i called it left a message, it rang later one, we agreed to wait for her to come back and pick it up, meantime it rang again so i answered it just in case it was her again, its her boyfriend, he's 'all who is this', i explained we found the phone and were waiting for her to turn up, he starts calling me an ahole etc going off about how he pays for it, i'm telling him, i;m just waiting with some friends to return it, he verbally abuses us some more.

I told him if he paid for it, then i can just walk off , drop it in a garbage can and he'll never know who i am, its his choice. his neanderthal brain starts to kick in as he realises this, We waited, she turned up, i told her about it, she said yeah hes an idiot, and off she went.

Pretty wierd all in all, either way even though the guy was like that, i had no problems returning it, she didnt even say thanks, but i don't care, and i'd be happy to do it again.

All modern cellphones are traceable, you can't turn it off easily, they track in different ways, even a phone with a sim, they all have serial numbers that the network can see in order to function, if its a CDMA its an ESN if its a SIM based its an IMEI.

if its reported stolen or missing and you try to get service on it , they may tag you, and its possible they'll report it to the cops, since they'd probably be in trouble if they knew about it and did nothing, also they might be concerned its cloned.

Regardless, the original carrier knows the ESN. If the phone is reported as lost or stolen, and you register the phone with a carrier, you're busted.

The carrier can cross reference the phone to the owner using the ESN or equivalent. I'd just drop it by the nearest cellular store that handles the brand.

Although the SIM does correlate the end user with the service, the phone STILL has an electronic serial number that is registered with provider (at least in the US).

I used to bartend, and I cannot count how many times I returned wallets full of money, credit cards, cell phones, and other people's belongings. It makes me feel good to give the person that feeling of relief and gratitude, /shrug.

Thanks Ashton for sharing that story. It's cool that you got your ring back but doubly cool how you rewarded the person who found it. :)

it is theft of mislaid property........


but the odds of them actually reporting it lost/stolen and have there serial number is low.....

I did a couple of weeks ago.

The best way I can make the world a better place is by not being a shithead myself. The fact the world is so far from being a nice place is evidence that too few people realise this.

I see that you've already started to return it, but here's my two cents anyway...

The phone does indeed have a unique ID that would necessarily have to be deactivated before you should use it. Whoever lost it will probably do this to keep from incuring illegitamte charges from a theif, but then they might also leave it subscribed in hopes of getting it returned. If you want to keep it for use, you need to get it resubscribed with a legit subscription in your name.

Most likely they won't be using the GPS feature to locate you... oh, and even if you disable that feature, it can still be located. They can use a technique called triangulation to find your aproximate whereabouts.

If you never find the phone's owner, and you decide to keep it, I would suggest selling it. The cash would probably be more valuable than the reactivations and whatnot.

By the way, what kind is it? Make and model? If you may be able to get the backdoor codes and reconfigure it yourself... like if you've already got a phone, you could clone the NAM and make a seemless upgrade.

I lost my wallet with $300 in it once. It was returned to me by a stranger who delivered it to my door (I didn't even know it was missing). He wouldn't take a reward either, but I did eventually talk him into letting me buy him a coffee and a ride home. It was in the middle of the winter and he walked.


And Mike, congrats for returning it. However, you were flamed for your later comments about keeping the phone. And I quote:

So I'm not going to feel bad about any previous comment I made.