Sprint Embezzlement Scheme?

[gguruusa]

They definitely track every device received and exchanged. That's the point of all the paperwork. Fundamentally, the problem boils down to whether you can activate a device that isn't the device received - and that all depends on how they track their inventory. You'd have to supply the lesser device (cause otherwise inventory is just plain missing). Given that they have 1000s of stores where fraud gets committed daily, I'd be suprised if they don't have this particular avenue locked up. But, I've seen bigger oversights. (Honestly, any halfway decent audit should catch this failure to reconcile, and they've been in this business long enough to see most every scam)

Why would Sprint try to thwart an investigation? they're the victim.

[Raging Idiot]

Originally Posted by gguruusa

They definitely track every device received and exchanged. That's the point of all the paperwork. Fundamentally, the problem boils down to whether you can activate a device that isn't the device received - and that all depends on how they track their inventory. You'd have to supply the lesser device (cause otherwise inventory is just plain missing). Given that they have 1000s of stores where fraud gets committed daily, I'd be suprised if they don't have this particular avenue locked up. But, I've seen bigger oversights. (Honestly, any halfway decent audit should catch this failure to reconcile, and they've been in this business long enough to see most every scam)

Why would Sprint try to thwart an investigation? they're the victim.

Haha, this is naive, and I know you not to be a naive person, and I hate to give it any respect by answering.

[Raging Idiot]

Originally Posted by ajones7279

And I dont think it was a replacement the seller ordered from sprint for herself because she was selling about 20 of them at the time

Yes, and I don't think they track these things very well because I know someone who requested a replacement (due to a lost phone) a couple years ago and Sprint sent them 2. They eventually gave one to their brother after telling him about what happened and he had it activated without a problem.

At first I was thinking people would just sell the phones cross-carriers so that it would be more difficult to track, essentially taking a Sprint phone and selling it as a Verizon phone, but then realized that apparently Sprint isn't even tracking (or rather enforcing) any of the swaps even when it's within their network.
If Sprint enforced policy when they could track it (which would be when the swap occurs inside their own network) then people would only sell the fraudulently obtained 6800's to people using carriers other than Sprint- and Sprint would lose more money.
The simple fact is if Sprint enforces policy they lose money, and if they don't then they likely make money.
They make money by way of enticing more people to their network, via inexpensive high end phones sold on eBay and listed as "Sprint".
It's no secret that Sprint makes it's money from the services, and not the hardware.

The public relations department (and stockholders) of any company wouldn't want any negative press in regards to their company, so they like to keep such matters muffled as much as possible.

This could be happening with any other phone company, it's just my personal experience has been with Sprint.