I nearly bought a stolen iPhone: Here's what I learned

Zoom in: The seller reluctantly met me at a T-Mobile store and showed me the iPhone was unlocked — meaning it wasn't restricted to one carrier — and had good battery health.

• She wanted cash and urged me to quickly pay because her ride was waiting.

Yes, but: I insisted a store employee check it first.

• The clerk ran its IMEI — the phone's unique identification number — and found it had been reported lost or stolen and couldn't be activated.
• The seller quickly left.

My takeaway: Always meet at a carrier store and have the phone thoroughly checked before paying.

• You can also run the IMEI through sites like StolenPhoneChecker.org or IMEIcheck.com for initial screening.

📱 1 happily ever after: I ultimately found a nearly new phone, also on Facebook Marketplace, from a seller who gladly met me at a phone store and patiently waited for the all-clear before I paid.

• And I saved hundreds of dollars.