Inside The Illicit World Of iPhone Trafficking

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A new phenomenon seems to have popped up in recent months... Many people are reporting their phones being stolen and popping up in the same place, prompting broader curiosity as to what is going on.
Today we dive into the world of smartphone trafficking to get a better picture into what's going on.
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[@BarelySociable]

Let Audible help you discover new ways to laugh, be inspired, or be entertained. New members can try it free for 30 days. Visit Audible.com/sociable or text sociable to 500-500

[@CoobyPls]

Eggs

[@512TheWolf512]

fix audio mixing, you're barely audible in this video, instead of barely sociable

[@bustermcthundernut]

@@512TheWolf512 that’s just not true at all

[@30.06onaGrassyKnoll]

please make more videos more often...i do enjoy your style and how well its done... regardless, i appreciate this new one, thanx

[@ZeranZeran]

These people give all Chinese a bad name If you're Chinese, speak up about it. Stop letting your friends and family steal.

[@darynmiller5151]

Was just sitting in the dark with my power out sitting through hurricane ian remnants when simultaneously the rain stopped, my power came back on and a barely sociable video popped up. This is truly a magic moment.

[@dotmp3883]

Be careful when the video ends the storm will be back

[@shadoemerald2633]

@@dotmp3883 Better put the video on 0.25x speed XD

[@pinkbee3117]

still out of power here but I'm watching anyways

[@bigpickles]

Very humbling isn't it!? Stay safe and best wishes.

[@somefkingrando]

Bless you bro. And before you ask, no the manager cant stop the storm so dont ask :P JOKING JOKING Im sorry. I had to. Stay safe!!

[@averagewhiteguy2]

That compilation of phone flippers near the end was pretty disgusting. Those guys were willingly and happily taking stolen phones, selling them on Ebay, and telling others how. These blatant instructional videos on illegal acts are allowed on KZbin, but someone saying a cuss word once or twice or playing a 10 second clip from a TV show can get them and their channel in trouble. What is this platform coming to? Thank you for covering this Barely.

[@gobbleguk]

extreme usury

[@notaraven]

I dont really understand the argument for bad esn phones. Like it suggests rather its stolen or that the owner ditched a finance agreement. So its rather theft, fraud, or collateral damage for a company suffering from a breach of contract. How can a company sell any of this? If i was apple or a cell provider I'd sue the shit put of everyone

[@conclavecabal.h0rriphic]

@@notaraven ikr?! How on earth is apple not putting this to bed? Considering we all are dropping almost a grand on our phones- they have the $ to develop & deploy the tech to prevent the illegal resale of stolen phones :\ At a _minimum_ they should have the ability to sue the businesses reselling the stolen goods into oblivion.

[@erickcuesta6168]

another thing that makes this the more disturbing is the simple fact that a good chunk of the phones that these people flip on ebay are conected to violent crime, to people who have either stabbed or shot or even killed just to steal their phone and these buyers won't know or care about it just contributing to this messed up cycle

[@EverythingRedd]

@@erickcuesta6168 🤣 letting your imagination run away with this story? There’s no fucking way that even 1% of these phones are related to any sort of violence or bodily harm. I would say nearly 100% are theft or scam related.

[@mikomiakari3949]

I actually work in fraud prevention and this is a really good overview of some of the types of schemes we tend to see when it comes to cell phones.

[@trisageonamoux9100]

Such a great job you do at prevention. Probably have similar solve rates to the police in the United States.

[@innovativekawneer56]

@@trisageonamoux9100 Might as well buy an apartment here since we live in your head rent free!

[@jeonderland]

Native Chinese here, so the place the phones end up in is a neighbourhood called Huaqiangbei (North Huaqiang) and it is a place for people to sell low quality or knockoff electronics such as iPhones and androids at a really cheap price and the place is known in Mainland China for it's stolen goods

[@AlexManMe]

My phone is currently in 深圳h has it reached its final destination?

[@Kookyxmnstr]

My little sister got her phone stolen at lollapalooza this year. She put the message on her phone remotely to call another number if found and a few days later the police called her alternate contact. She said they had been investigating a ring and they found 44 at that time, she was very fortunate to have hers back.

[@hufficag]

That's good it's a happy ending. She can get a fanny pack the next time she goes to a festival. I got this idea now, it's good to engrave your company phone number and address on your phone, that way if found they can just mail it. I lost my phone in a taxi, fell out of my pockets, and the driver didn't have the new fangled USB-C charger cable so it was dead when I tried calling my number. I had to go to the police station, look at traffic cameras, call the taxi company, and eventually got my phone back.

[@george._sir._gemini.175]

Stay away from Chicago..

[@eliotgierat9462]

@@george._sir._gemini.175 chicago is fine lol, going to any large music festival is a risk for getting pickpocketed. see what happens if you try and pickpocket someone in Chicago in the middle of the street.

[@oceanstaiga5928]

Growing up in Europe I was always taught to keep valuables inside your inner jacket pocket and for women to keep the purse over their shoulder when out in the city. I tell this to all exchange students that visit my university and still I now have lost count of how many of them come back from weekend trips to big cities with their phones stolen… cities all over Europe too. Keep an eye on your valuables, a back pocket is never a save option.

[@nox5555]

well thats because you cant tell them which groups of people to look for because that would be racist.

[@RobinTheBot]

@@nox5555 In the videos above we saw they were mostly women, an Asian and several white women. The racist part is your assumptions contrary to reality. The pickers are basically local hired help. It has nothing to do with race... It has to do with economics.

[@Archangelm127]

Wallet in your front pants pocket. For added security, wrap a couple thick rubber bands around it. When I travel to touristy places, I actually use a neck wallet and keep it under my shirt. Money belts are also very useful if worn correctly.

[@nox5555]

@@RobinTheBot im pretty sure Roma is not a Race, and the stats are very clear, 80+% of Adult Roma have prior convictions in a couple of major european cities.

[@tempesttossed6029]

@@Archangelm127 Are wallets on very thick chains not good enough?

[@iainronald4217]

Airline belts and jogging belts exist for a reason, actually a few: 1) They're strapped to your abdomen under your shirt and difficult for thieves to get to. 2) They're designed to grasp your items tightly and can't be opened easily. If you go to any music festival, wear one.

[@sub-zero5433]

and wear pants with zip pockets

[@gliixo]

exactly, my valuables are basically touching my genitals at all times

[@okthxforyomom]

Very good for running too!

[@overlord2066]

​@@gliixo 🗿

[@HighItsBubba]

I just do a fanny pack across my chest for al my important shitand it works just fine

[@ccrusher1]

As a former manager for a phone sales company, I love how you brought up about stolen identities and straw sales. These are things that most people don't ever know about until they're a part of it. Great video!

[@TheDirector_]

💯 seen it all the time in wireless sales

[@danfromaplace]

As a repair tech in Houston I can tell you that the illegal trade of stolen parts and devices have become almost more common than not. I'm glad you added the part about Harwin Dr as that area of town is some of the most sketchy and dishonest businesses I've ever had to work with. The amount spent on tools and software to bypass iclouds and FRP settings is insane, in many cases these shops could invest in equipment to do more complex repairs. There are a lot of good reasons for bypassing software locks for customers (mainly reducing E-waste) but the abuse of these tools are what make the industry look bad.

[@Boodoo4You]

Which tools bypass iCloud? I’m pretty sure that they literally do not exist. Not on a modern iPhone that’s for sure. Even Cellebrite can’t just remove iCloud.

[@angieemm]

Harwin's come a long way from counterfeit handbags and watches. As a native Houstonian, the evolution has been interesting - and a little gut-wrenching - to watch.

[@danfromaplace]

@@Boodoo4You some tools sold as DFU mode or purple screen testers can be used to reprogram parts of the phone to make it look like it has a different serial number and other information, once the phone is reset it essentially is an entirely different phone as far as apples servers are concerned. Mostly this is a problem on iphone 10 and below.

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

Only people in first world countries are shocked by this. I'm Mexican. Here stolen electronics are an expected issue and all these situations are basically the daily grind for some people.

[@ae.dllONTT]

I'm in houston as well. As a repair tech, are you aware of the sketchy brothels and unlicensed phone flippers in pasadena and hobby airport area?

[@smittzero8463]

I'm not surprised that those tiny phone repair shops can be linked to criminal activity. They always look incredibly dodgy.

[@jezwc]

I feel like there's almost always one or two people loitering around inside when you walk/drive by

[@dabkevinhere5422]

Why bc they are alwas Indian and you question yourself how did someone move from a poor country to America and sell and buy phones.

[@Davi-kc2wq]

@@dabkevinhere5422 when did OP remotely imply anything that you just said?

[@heftymagic4814]

@@dabkevinhere5422 sounds like you're projecting

[@joveymcjupi4455]

@@dabkevinhere5422 my guy's immediately going for the racism card lmao well done

[@sergpie]

When I was backpacking through South America, I began hearing jokes and sayings about how Paraguay is where all the stolen cameras end up; I reunited with a Dutch friend in Buenos Aires who found her camera for sale in Ciudad del Este; she had it stolen in southern Brazil. The camera had an etched initial on it, and she bought it back like $50. It even managed to retain its lenses and lens-cap

[@toddk9793]

I was almost a victim of the "fraud trafficking" portion of this topic. I switched to Androids back in 2018, in 2019 I received a brand new iPhone in the mail (shipped to me at my address.) Ended up being a case of fraud where they open a credit line in someone else's name, they then contact the shipping carrier after receiving shipment information and change the 'ship to address' so they receive the phone. I guess they forgot to change the address or it shipped too quickly and I ended up with the phone. Took it back to the local Verizon store and let them deal with it. Could have ruined my credit if I didn't get the phone and a few months went by with no payments being made.

[@martharunstheworld]

That's wild! Someone did that to my checking account years ago! Glad you got it solved!

[@therealruckus5263]

For the life of me I just cannot understand why people prefer to keep their phones in their back pocket.

[@Spottedclaws]

I use the back pocket if I wear women's pants, since the front pockets aren't big enough for a phone (and are sometimes even sewn shut). With other pants I'll use the front pockets, but that's probably the main reason for it

[@PineappleKuri]

idk because clothing is sexist

[@TimSmith-ne5zs]

@@PineappleKuri it’s a conspiracy, pants makers paid off by pick pockets

[@therealruckus5263]

Good point

[@therealruckus5263]

@@PineappleKuri Well clothing is often designed from an aesthetical perspective. When we keep in shape, humans naturally like their clothing to complement their figure. Tight jeans obviously fit the bill for this, and practical front pockets don't co-exist with that design. I had never really thought of it like that until now. Still, it sucks for woman.

[@StopFocus]

I work as a phone repair tech in Michigan. This issue has been getting worse as more people get smartphones. Back when smart phones were becoming more mainstream it was more safe to buy used phones and tablets from people who walked into your store. 9 times out of 10 you were buying from the person who got the device brand new and only used it for 2 or 3 years. We would then turn and sell it to the second person. Back then a phone that had more than 2 previous owners was unheard of. Now phones can have 4 or 5 previous owners and no one will care. We see people who come in and say they bought a phone brand new and the inside of the device is full of refurbishment stickers from the 2 main companies in the Phone insurance game (I can safely say both companies names may or may not start with A). People don't know if they're buying refurbished or new devices anymore. These issues are so rampant in our industry that its just a normal Tuesday for us when we tell a customer the phone they thought they bought brand new was refurbished. My company has all but stopped buying phones from customers off the street; My store wont buy any device from a customer for more than scrap value. And at that point we wont resell the device, we use it for training new techs. One topic too that you didn't cover in the video is how repair companies are constantly bombarded with buy requests for "old and used phones" the buyers will offer top dollar for the devices. These buyers are almost always Chinese, most of us who try to stay on the good side of the consumer technology world are aware of what these buyers are trying to get unfortunately there are people who just don't understand and get caught up in the web.

[@Randy.Bobandy]

What are they trying to get?

[@loatherd]

Actually back in the day 2008-2011 I’d take iPhones and they were easily wipable back then then sold on for weed, nowadays the security is much higher on them. Also lol the amount of data left on their phones was a fun window into peoples lives but I’d have the decency to wipe before passing

[@gendashwhy]

The Chinese are understandabley freaking the F out! Their world is a mess. They deserve a chance, but grifting the Western world won't fix what's wrong with their approach to life. #anonda

[@riddell26]

@@Randy.Bobandy any and all kind of pertinent Intel. Even the most mundane things can be treasure troves of data and info.

[@juanmarquez9729]

Lemme guess asurion

[@dynagaming2693]

This is one of the primary reasons I use a belt clip. I completely understand how uncool it is, but leaving my phone in a backpack or putting it in a pocket is definitely asking for trouble, especially in large and crowded areas. I see so many people simply tucking their phones in their back pocket or in a bag loosely hanging off themselves. A skilled pickpocket will be able to razor your pocket without you having any idea. However with a belt clip, it takes literally tugging on my pants to unhook it. Another thing I see people do constantly is leaving their phones in their vehicles when quickly running into convenience stores or other places. Even in the most desolate areas where nobody is around for miles, all it takes is one opportunistic thief.

[@whatabouttheearth]

If you don't wear tight jeans I'd just put it in my front pocket, pretty hard to pickpocket, especially when other stuff is in there and you put it in sideways like this 🎫, not this🎚️

[@lasarousi]

Your front pockets are as secure as a clip. Actually, more since the clip can be janked off

[@sydneyroth1853]

just got my brand new iphone stolen last night at the club, I'm honestly too pissed to watch this

[@MartianCandies]

I'm so sorry. I hope you had coverage/insurance for it, and I hope the asses who took it weren't even able to sell it lmao

[@sydneyroth1853]

@@MartianCandies I actually didn't and I am currently still on a payment plan for it, but thank u I appreciate it! maybe I needed to be humbled, staying positive

[@MartianCandies]

@@sydneyroth1853 it's possibleee, it's funny bc my cousin had the same thing happen to her, didn't even have it a day and it got stolen at a house party lol. She was the type that needed a biggg humbling, but you really don't seem that way ^^ I really hope you can pay it off within this year, and next time you go out get one of those cheap fanny packs that have a place for the whole where you can still use it while it's in it, it can't hurt ^^ staying positive is the best thing you can do, and remember you're very much not alone in this. Bestest of wishes to you, have a great upcoming weekend

[@hudziszeq]

@@sydneyroth1853 Just buy a cover online, wait a month and claim it lost/stolen..

[@brian954]

The fact that you covered people trying to recruit me for being a "straw man" while I was homeless (I'm doing much better now) and showed a news story from my area, I'm both shocked and not surprised at the same time. The people that tried to target me as a straw purchase outside of the plasma ""donation"" center also tried to rob me at gunpoint for my CII and CIV percription meds. There's no shame in scammers.

[@bigdoggo5827]

Thanks for giving us more info. And good luck to you dude, it's nice to read that you are doing better

[@Rokomarn]

That ain't you

[@brian954]

@@Rokomarn I'm talking about the fact that it happened to me, and that it happens to a lot of other people that are in the position that I was in. Should've worded it better but it was like 3 or 4am and I was tired.

[@Rokomarn]

@@brian954 that makes sense

[@ToonReunis]

Good job getting out of it Brian!

[@NiSE_Rafter]

Literally had a Samsung s21 stolen by FedEx last week (box arrived without phone inside, got resealed). Kind of needed that because my phone broke and I need my phone at work... There's been thousands of phones stolen by FedEd employees in the last few years.

[@janecherrytree]

This happened to me, too. Had my phone sent in for repairs, and then I get a message saying that my package arrived there empty. Nobody felt responsible, neither the manufacturer nor UPS. Had to just get a new phone that I couldn‘t really afford.

[@themanwithnoname3145]

that's insane bro

[@yardkartretreads]

So many things get stolen by FedEx. I know of a sporting goods shop in my town that had half of an order of firearms stolen. Boxes resealed but empty. They caught the guy at the distribution center but allegedly he had done it for years.

[@Brandon-bc5um]

the colurreds are at it again....

[@evergreenrider]

I repair FedEx trailers. The amount of empty phone, smart watches, electronics, and firearms boxes left in the trailers is staggering. FedEx has a MASSIVE theft problem coming from their employees. Christmas season getting here soon, do NOT ship via FedEx.

[@JUNIORC101]

My brother worked at a recycling center and the amount of iphones and phone they had was insane alot of the recycling centers people would drop off theyre phones with all theyre info on it

[@SpongeBobJellyFishes]

He shouldve took some and sold them to China black market

[@JUNIORC101]

@Funk he would keep some stuff for himself but everyone had theyre own business within the company lol some sold antenas, harddrives, others sold laptops , others sold cables lmao it was crazy my bro would give me all the videogames and consoles lol

[@JUNIORC101]

@Funk and the crazy part is companys have to pay the electronic recycle centers to pick theyre shit up lmao.

[@AlexisS998]

My ex used to work at one of these shops and he used to take stuff all the time. One time he brought me a perfectly good laptop that I still have to this day

[@Dwall44]

@@JUNIORC101 I love that, absolutely awesome! I’d be lying If I said I hadn’t collected my fair share of electronics through similar means.

[@wowjay1]

This is crazy my phone was stolen back in late October and it was taken from me at a convenience store when my head turned for 2 seconds in Spokane Washington and ended in this spot this is crazy

[@nater.2278]

Had my phone stolen at HardSummer in Southern California. Got a bunch of random texts with links, definitely not stupid enough to click any link. Sad part, it was my first musical festival. Had to buy a new phone. Thought I dropped my phone and I had 3-4 people around me doing the same. It took one person to tell us, “someone is walking around stealing phones.” Definitely killed my mood.

[@hdfwk4wjj69wjvi8]

There's at least 1 app that you don't even need to click the link! I don't think you even have to get texted. Some crazy shit the way price of sadi Arabia got Jeff bozos hacked and took all his shit. You're probably good tho! Unless you're already in the group of people who focus on great operational securities. Haven't heard the name HardSummer for years! Damn it brings back memories. Thanks for that.

[@Theonlyoneleft1000]

Was your phone in your back or front pocket?

[@SmokeyChipOatley]

Had mine stolen at Coachella years ago and literally less than a half hour later I found a brand new iPhone (at the time) on the ground. I obviously couldn’t access their contacts or make any calls but luckily the owner’s boyfriend called and was able to return it to them. I was hoping the good karma would help me retrieve my phone somehow but it obviously didn’t work. It still felt good to do a good deed and not “pay the b.s forward” by keeping their iPhone. And I’d be lying if it didn’t cross my mind because it was way better than my recently stolen one but I thought it wasn’t in the spirit of the festival. Fuck thieves and scammers. I hope the get what they deserve.

[@nater.2278]

@@Theonlyoneleft1000 front pocket zipped up.

[@Theonlyoneleft1000]

@@nater.2278 It always creeps me out how good some pickpocketers are

[@Trygon]

Wanna know a fun fact about the blacklist? When a phone is reported lost or stolen, the IMEI number is locked down and can't be used ever again. This has worked great for years, until the last few years, as eSIM has come into play. See, your iphone has two IMEI numbers now - And the blacklist only catches one. Oh, unless you bought a 14, that one has *EIGHT* IMEI numbers. I reported this when I discovered it working for AT&T. They told me I was wrong and the blacklist worked fine. Never mind the blacklisted phone I personally activated using the IMEI2, I guess. It's about to be a new golden age for phone thieves.

[@Trygon]

@Global Psybreaks It's much more than just apple, and making your phone an even hotter target for theives isn't great business practice. They just don't care. No conspiracy, just apathy.

[@randomshorts739]

@@Trygon The more phones stolen the more new ones will be purchased = profit

[@rocketsmall4547]

i thought aple have some kind of super find my phone feature. how are people getting away with it

[@Trygon]

@@rocketsmall4547 Wipe the phone in DFU mode, or use one of the other tricks talked about in the video.

[@Lux197live]

Blacklist only works in USA. Abroad nothing happens.

[@Kingkmf]

Still waiting on part 2 of “The Music Industry’s Darkest Secret” I hope you weren’t “discouraged” from making it. That has the potential to be one of the most eye opening docs of the last 20 years if you truly expose what it seemed like you were going to expose.

[@sws316]

I really want to see it too!

[@atpyro7920]

this entire video pretty much describes why I don’t go to events like this and when I’m dragged there by someone else I keep my stuff in my pockets under my hands the entire time.

[@isaiahbarada8167]

The woman out there stealing phones. Just anyone bold enough to steal at a festival is crazy, but the girl is really lucky she ain't walked away beat tf up by a crowd.

[@enough2715]

@@vespii you're entire comment history is low level bait, step it up.

[@KINGVONFRM063]

They want equal rights they should also get equal lefts, if it was a boy he would have been beaten so bad she lucky a girl

[@AZAZEL_TK]

@@vespii You must be black

[@zeitgeist2720]

@@vespii pathetic

[@Archangelm127]

@@vespii Learn to troll. That was pathetic.

[@chadtalbot8917]

First Internet Historian and now Barely Sociable. A truly great week for everyone 👍🏻

[@trevormcdonald385]

Can you recommend me some channels

[@juh-roon]

Hah, same here. That Cave video was goddamn TENSE.

[@eisherz4711]

@@trevormcdonald385 Nexpo for internet horror stories/documentary

[@trevormcdonald385]

@@eisherz4711 cheers

[@UniversityofLach]

@@trevormcdonald385 Lemmino makes good videos sorta documentaries

[@RogueAstro85]

Stealing has been a problem at festivals and concerts for years, it's only in the past 10 years that people started carrying small rectangles worth $1000 so the problem is significantly more noticeable. I almost got pickpocketed in London a while back. A woman walked up to me and grabbed my face and leaned in to kiss me and I shoved her off and immediately turned around because I knew what was happening. There was a guy right behind me who just said "She's crazy!" but was obviously with her. I told them to fuck off. Luckily I kept my wallet and phone in an undershirt fanny pack so even if they had gotten me I'd have nothing but a pound or 2 in my pockets

[@chefdeemusic]

did you wake up after?

[@jmjedi923]

The undershirt fanny pack is a good idea, especially if your wearing layers

[@mattgoss3060]

She was ugly or you’re gay it’s one of the two.

[@RogueAstro85]

@@mattgoss3060 Nope, just don't like a stranger swapping spit with me while I'm walking down the sidewalk. And what if I was gay? Is that a bad thing?

[@SpriteMaster214]

Got mine stolen at Lollapalooza in 2021 and since then I’ve been very outspoken on this topic and have done my fair share of reasearch into this topic. Thank you BS for bringing this to light for more people. These people are scum

[@ravennamedzebra]

just get a new phone? outspoken about the trauma of having a phone stolen?? lol what???

[@SpriteMaster214]

@@ravennamedzebra you have no idea what it’s like to be alone in the city with 400k people with no phone to get home 30-40 mins away. Not about the phone as much as it is the shitty people who steal stuff that people work hard for dog

[@ravennamedzebra]

@@SpriteMaster214 I do know actually. I didn't have a phone the first 25 years of my life. Pay phones were the phones I had the option of and it was totally fine. Theft is obviously not cool but it's nothing new. Phone trafficking is just a weird topic of conversation, this whole video is weird to me. Every stolen item has black market aside from personal use. And the idea that anyone would pay more than $100 for a phone is insane

[@jlo7770]

​@@ravennamedzebra I have a 2k$ phone because I use it for everything. Not all of us live in 2000 or qualify for a jitterbug cell phone plan

[@JeAxra]

Forever haunted by my phone being stolen at aftershock 2019. The phone is whatever but I’m still just heartbroken over all the photos I lost.

[@rocketsmall4547]

backup ur phone from time to time. after this video. im going to tell people to buy a burner phone to use for concerts. black friday long ago one can be had for 10 bux

[@JeAxra]

@@rocketsmall4547 the sad thing is this upset me so much I’ve essentially stopped taking photos, so now I don’t think there’s anything I’d miss anymore. Though it is best practice to backup every so often as well as just being generally more careful.

[@jeffs1571]

There's a saying in the computer technician world: "There are 2 types of people: those that back up their data and those who haven't lost anything yet."

[@lauratiso]

I live in Brazil. In 2013 my ex-girlfriend got her then new iPhone 5S stolen on a bus. Months later her iCloud showed her phone at this area in Shenzhen too. Police staff said at the time said that it was happening for some years with others people stolen iPhones, eventually they showed up in Paraguay and then in mainland China. So it's happening for over a decade by now, at least for us in Latin America.

[@orion10x10]

Really well done video! Fantastic journalism

[@barretprivateer8768]

Makes we want to go to a music festival with a (perhaps leather lined) pocket full of rusty razor blades

[@CitAllHearItAll]

My spacey self would forget the razors were there, and I'd cut myself. 100% chance.

[@wolfetteplays8894]

Make sure they’re HIV+ as well

[@snake_pot]

I must be the luckiest man in the world. I’ve had a pair of sunglasses stolen at a music festival but never my phone. I actually lost it myself on two separate occasions and had it returned to me by strangers both times😅 It never occurred to me that the phone stealing is this organized

[@23Butanedione]

You should be very grateful, maybe take better care of your stuff

[@SecretSauceyjuice]

The vast majority of people at most festivals are not pieces of shit, but you still got lucky as hell. I wouldn't go for a 3rd try on that one lol.

[@mariacargille1396]

That's actually very encouraging, I appreciate that wholesome other side of the story. :)

[@fromthegamethrone]

I've had people attempt to steal from me at gigs/festivals - but I don't keep my valuables in easy to reach pockets. Scum they are, and just as quick as they have their hands in your pocket, they're gone. A serial crowd surfer is quite often a theif, they pick the pocket, get boosted up on the crowd and drop the goods off to a mate at the side line. Caught one little bastard doing it at the offspring gig a few months back.

[@hufficag]

I thought phone stealing is a thing of the past. Like I remember how sketchy the world was in 2011 in China, criminality, pollution, etc. But these days it's all bright clean and colorful, and phones are so ubiquitous that nobody steals them anymore, they're dirt cheap now. Everybody leaves phones on the restaurant table, at the bar, going to the bathroom at Starbucks, and nobody cares anymore.

[@effortlessweb9816]

Great video, well done for researching and sharing info on this. It's super important. I recently bought a phone, and I did my best to make sure it was legit, but it's just so hard to know these days. So many scammers out there

[@leok3347]

that audible segway was so smooth I didn't skip in fact I thought ''you got me good'' so i actually listened it whole :D well done!

[@223rockmaster]

I work for a community bank in Massachusetts. I work closely with our fraud prevention and data security teams in mitigating and resolving cases of fraud. I have to say the possibility for massive identity / data theft from these schemes absolutely terrifies me.

[@MrJest2]

Oh... and never, ever, ever put any financial information into a "smartphone". That's just a whole other level of stupid.

[@aussiebob1315]

its already happening banks here in NZ are getting smashed by BIN attacks i myself have been hit 3x this week , never had a dodgy transaction ever until now my OPSEC is pretty good

[@aussiebob1315]

on a 4 day long weekend here also ..go figure

[@mohavewolfpup]

Just wait until more phones get stolen folks have put their drivers license into for maximum identity theft

[@lasarousi]

Why would terrify you? It means your job is secured as long as dumb people exist .

[@41-Haiku]

I can't get enough of Barely Sociable. Some of my favorite content on the platform!

[@reignofmo]

same here

[@ceeespee2204]

wholeheartedly agree. this was a pleasant surprise drop, kinda made my night..

[@themitjashow]

@Don't Read My Profile Photo ok

[@xibalbalon8668]

No joke one of the best channels in this genre of videos, whatever its called. He does it with such seriousness and without sensationalism

[@synchro505]

My wife loves the name of the channel. LOL

[@DasMoose9001]

God I love your work man..... You're really the epitome of indie documentaries done correctly and thoroughly. Thanks for everything you do and offer to the channel BI.

[@purpleguy3000]

Used to work at a secondhand tech shop a couple of years ago, and it being a chain they were fairly strict on what they would buy in. The amount of people trying to sell phones with blocked accounts was always the same story (I forgot my pin/ I forgot my password/ I don't remember the email I used). Shadiest thing that happened was a guy who cleared our inventory of last gen consoles on a fairly regular basis to flip in the middle east (not too shady as we background checked serials on stuff as well as phone IMEIs) but a branch a couple towns over it was well known a guy would sell the manager a black sack of phones from time to time for dirt cheap.

[@cyber_rachel7427]

21:47 You said this right as I'm walking by my town centre. If I look around, there are 8 vape shops and 6 phone repair places. Given that their opening times are some of the weirdest shit you've ever seen, everyone just assumes something criminal goes on inside them lmao

[@allesdurchprobiert]

Here in Germany even the smallest towns have (sometimes several!) "gambling halls". You know, not those fancy James Bond Las Vegas style casinos, more like arcades, but for gambling. Pretty ghetto. It's absolutely not possible that there's so much genuine demand for them. It's kinda an open secret that they're mainly used for cash money laundering. The people you see going in and coming out ALL look shady as fuck. And often they just hang out on the parking lot next to their black tuned Benzes, Audis, and BMWs for over an hour obviously waiting for "the man" to arrive. So if gambling is illegal where you live, they need other shops for that.

[@nox5555]

@@allesdurchprobiert Gambling halls in germany do make alot of money. mostly from older migrants. the small "Handy!" shops are also not so involved in smartphone trafficing, they make their money with burner Sim cards. Money laundering is doen the old fashioned way, with restaurants.

[@davidoneill7554]

What do you have against vape shops 🤔

[@jetorixjones]

I just realized the vape shop I frequent has a phone repair shop next door.

[@inigo9000]

@@allesdurchprobiert I think you don’t have a clue how many people have a serious gambling problem and spend in a hour every euro they made in a month. Even most newspapershops these days are mostly places where people come to gamble, this has nothing to do with something like this

[@y0_jimb0]

When I worked for Apple support, there was no way at all for us to assist people in bypassing an Apple ID lock. aside from walking them through how to do it on their end. If they didn't have what they needed to do it, they were SOL. Not saying that made it impossible to break into phones by any means, but it certainly was not going to be through the assistance of Apple support staff.

[@stillthebody-movethemind6346]

Mmmm... not true. There was a huge thing where people would make fake receipts and bring them into Apple stores and get them iCloud unlocked.

[@jacobmckaig5814]

I found your channel last week. I have now watched your entire collection

[@TrevorHadley]

no one gonna talk about the transition into the ad read? Clean as hell

[@GareWorks]

So... if Apple just offered parts like normal instead of being so against right to repair, there wouldn't be a trafficking business for iPhone parts. Wild.

[@lucasjames8281]

IMO, not wild, obvious behaviour on the part of a corporation who's primary goal is to make profit. There was 1 person who gave a fuck about us at Apple, and he's been dead for a while now

[@nicholasr23]

This

[@muninn9674]

@@lucasjames8281 This lol. why do yall think Apple are so vehemently against it? if theres demand, people will steal. when you have your phone stolen and unrecoverable, what do you do? you buy a new one, which inturn makes Apple money. A company as large as Apple is definitely aware that this is a problem and im gonna bet my 2 cents they like it.

[@ahappycoder2925]

They do offer parts.

[@Goldfire345]

@@ahappycoder2925 they only offer parts for their most recent models from the past few years anything older than that and you're pretty much out of luck it's the same with their laptops

[@ryanmurphy2089]

2019 I was at rolling loud in a crowd. I kept my phone in my hand the whole time but others around me where not as smart. One guy all of the sudden goes “where’s my phone” then lake a wave at least 25 people around started panicking realizing they don’t have there phones either including my friend. A week later we got home and my friend decided to try and track the phone just for fun and it was in China crazy.

[@Brandon-bc5um]

"not as smart"? who has to keep their phones in their hands? at a music festival? how can you call them "not as smart" for doing something the same way theyd always do it for over a decade? Like how were they to know there was a scum in the audience?

[@xenothebros405]

Bro how the fuck😂😂

[@ryanmurphy2089]

@@xenothebros405 it was wild lmao that’s why i have my phone in my hand at all times at festivals

[@xenothebros405]

@@ryanmurphy2089 Makes sense that they did it at a concert. There was definitely multiple people doing that too.

[@ryanmurphy2089]

@@xenothebros405 yeah it sounded like groups of teens would go to the most dense parts of the festivals and go ham

[@KiyaWarrior]

Excellent video! Very well made and informative. Bravo.

[@eli3762]

Just binged your whole channel. Good, good stuff.

[@papabaddad]

Ebay preventing the listing from going up is such a stupid way to handle it! If they actually wanted to stop these sales (spoiler alert: they dont, it makes them boatloads of money in seller fees) they would secretly blacklist any listing that their filter hits

[@23Butanedione]

Well it's not really ebays problem, I think it's probably smarter to target the people actually stealing the phones as apposed to where they are sometimes sold

[@heatherbrenner8275]

This! They do that for many, many products. I got out of selling on Ebay and one of the reasons was the ever-growing blacklist of products that you never know about unless you list the item and get flagged. It was annoying. But they definitely have ways of stopping specific items from being sold.

[@erik3371]

Why is ebay even relevant here?

[@GasPipeJimmy]

@@23Butanedione You talk and make excuses like a criminal. Target the entire distribution chain, eventually you will drive up the costs of being a criminal and that always has an effect

[@23Butanedione]

@@GasPipeJimmy you talk like somebody ignorant of what large scale effect could come from sweeping decisions like banning things

[@diamonddjewel]

I still can’t get over my phone being stolen from me at a busy mall the day after Christmas 3 years ago. This video was so interesting! It also just reminded me of a shop I went to once that repaired phone screens and one dude there mentioned that he could bypass iCloud locked phones. That place didn’t last long 😅

[@diychad7268]

There are more reasons to bypass that other than for stolen phones, I was once given an ipad 2 mini by my aunt who was a school vice principal and the device was hers from the previous year at school, so the original email and password were setup by the school tech, well I use it for like a year and a half just signed into my accounts once I got it, well one day I decided I wanted to reset the iPad so that it would be "custom" to me completely, well I forgot/didn't know to turn of the find my iphone before I initiated the reset, so once it reset and I turned it on one of the first few things it wanted from me were the original email and password it was setup under, well my aunt could t for the life of her remember the password and the tech guy was a different dude by then, so I had a only 3 year old ipad that I could not longer use, its still not been able to been used since which has always pissed me off

[@jugostran]

I have been in the phone game for a while. I remember Serbia as being a sort of "Wild West" for various different types of illicit activity. However, one interesting thing of note is that every single one of those phones was an iPhone. All of these bypasses, illicit activity and other schemes seem to radiate around Apple devices. I suspect this has something to do with the facts that; A: Apple refuses to sell parts to third parties. B: Apple implemented the iCloud lock regardless of if the phone was actually stolen or the owner just forgot the password. Apple purposefully made it impossible to even wipe the phone without that password. It would've made sense if the phone could be reset with all data being erased without using a password (on the condition the device is not marked as stolen of course). The above three points all apply to most Android devices.

[@yeti4269]

I had written a comment almost word for word about the second hand retailers about 5 minutes before you said it. I worked at a store that was second hand and we for sure bought in plenty of brand new items that were obviously stolen and also had a large number of blacklisted phones, and account locked devices. Some of them we would be able to send off and get the locks removed. I mainly worked in the backroom for pricing. It's definitely a scummy business but I was 19.

[@wolfetteplays8894]

Who cares? They’re sticking it to the man. The rich don’t play fair either, so why should we?

[@Christian-gr3gu]

I'm very glad to be an introvert in cases like these

[@PeekinBlyne]

Same

[@amentco8445]

they'll find a way to steal from you some other way.

[@TheRogueAdventurers]

the other side of the problem is that these kind of smartphone locks create a ton of Ewaste when they can't be unlocked, it's kind of a lose lose scenario, the only thing i could think of is that locked phones could be sent to apple recycling centers with no money.

[@ahappycoder2925]

Especially because apple locks parts to the serial number of the iPhone that it was win

[@chromaticification]

@@Bobspineable woosh

[@at_oussama]

I would rather my device creates waste than a thief having easy access to my documents and photos, and profiting from selling my phone to others. android phones can easily be unlocked and sold but they still are the biggest sources of waste, so it's definitely not the locks that are the issues.

[@Morphoidism]

@@chromaticification Not a woosh bruh.

[@PrezVeto]

If phones reported stolen became unusable, no one would pay thieves for them, and thieves would no longer have a motive to steal them in the first place. Unfortunately the gangster state that is China won't make stolen phones unusable, so the market will continue to exist.

[@PinkAgaricus]

Also, I wonder if this could be why iPhone parts are serialized. It all comes back around to the thieves and scammers, they make everything consumer and repair unfriendly. I wonder how they deal with the serialized parts in modern iPhones.

[@stephansliger6387]

Damn that intro there was smooth asf possibly one of the smoothest transitions into an ad I’ve ever seen. Well done. 👍

[@wolfdragon4176]

Watching this reminded me of a time I “fixed” my phone screen at some dodgy shop, when I got my phone back it looked completely different and wouldn’t turn on without me connecting it to ITunes. Then when I asked what he did or if I could have my phone back he said he’d give it to me for £10 lmao. That shop doesn’t exist anymore for as far as I know.

[@brittanyrainbow1976]

The absolute scumbaggery of saying "I'm going to buy this phone and sell this phone as if it's stolen, but since I didn't ASK if it was stolen, I didn't know they were stolen!" is insane

[@Itzbeelte]

Bro that was the smoothest fricking sponsorship if I ever seen one. 😂

[@heyalexluu]

As someone who had gotten my phone stolen at EDC LV (buried in my lumbar pack across my chest) it's quite frightening and disgusting how people manage to turn this into a lucrative business.

[@SpartanHighKing14]

*Barely Sociable* is in the same league as *LEMMINO* Excellent content as usual.

[@GarrettX001]

Better than by far, I think.

[@tomstonemale]

@@GarrettX001 not really. Lemmino has way better production values and polished scripts but Barely Sociable it's getting better with every video.

[@screwyourhandle]

@@tomstonemale IMO production values and polished scripts aren't really the main deciding factors in what makes good content, it's just icing on the cake

[@tomstonemale]

@@screwyourhandle I agree to an extent. It's more about the final product and the structure of the story and how it's told. Sometimes Barely Sociable has a very interesting topic but the conclusion is rushed for some reason and the payoff is lacking, like the Sakamoto video.

[@TSFboi]

the phone flipper guy bragging about how much me makes selling stolen phones is gross.

[@DirtyDog22]

Best channel on KZbin homie! Love your content.

[@karakatowTV]

Shocking how a non tech channel researched and shone lights on these issues. Hope the big tech channels covered these topics soon too!

[@tobersoberful]

The amount of research that goes into your content is unfathomable. Thank you for what you do, your effort and attention to detail is insane. Looking forward to whatever you’re working on in the background long-term, the occasional posts are still appreciated.

[@SnapshotOfASoul]

I had my Samsung S5 Neo give me battery life issues years ago, and when I took it into a popular fix-it shop, they gave me a Samsung replacement battery still in the box, addressed from this exact place in China... that battery proceeded to become a "spicy pillow" and expand slowly, nearly killing the phone. Luckily, the phone's back was removeable and I was able to swap in the old battery and just live with it until I got a new phone. I remembered looking up the address because Samsung isn't from China and wondered if they just made their batteries there. It was likely a really good fake or secondhand and worn out completely, according to people I talked to - it's not uncommon for fix-it shops to buy fakes or used stuff and market it as new.

[@NoobOfShame]

Thank fuck it wasn’t worse then your phone dying. I’m pretty sure when lithium ion batteries expand there’s a risk of them “blowing up”. Black market parts can potentially be dangerous

[@amentco8445]

@@NoobOfShame the risk of phone lithiums blowing up is low if you aren't incredibly stupid and careless with an expanding battery. They can even be expanding for several days and you won't notice. If the fire risk were really as bad as fear mongerers claim then all phones would be having a note 7 situation. The truth is with good quality control and today's smart charging even a failing battery won't be a death trap.

[@maxwellwallace8553]

There's recently been a lot of news lately about old (and even some relatively new) Samsung phones with expanding batteries. This seems to be a problem for a lot of Samsung smartphones over the years.

[@hufficag]

I love that area in Shenzhen. Last time I got like 12 phone batteries for my Motorola and kept them in a metal box when traveling. When you're riding on the train for 2 days, with nothing to do, and you're just memorizing Chinese characters, it helps if you can just swap out batteries. Each battery lasts 6 hours I remember. There's no electrical sockets in old 1950s trains.

[@richardpolonskyi9219]

I genuinely enjoyed this video, keep up the work, got me distracted !!

[@pudimy]

Here in Brazil it's common sense to be very careful with our phones Never walk with your phone in your hand or in a pocket that makes it exposed, especially at night, dark places or when there's no people in the street If you have a backpack and you're in a place where there's lots of people use it on your chest, not your back

[@PrezVeto]

That's nice, but it excuses nothing in the video.

[@volvo24091]

Good there is common sense in Brazil unlike America

[@user-ru6mq5sc5n]

True.

[@tessfabled4115]

This is why my phone is usually down the front of my shirt when I'm in crowds lol. Try and steal it and you can get in trouble for molestation AND theft at the same time!

[@wolfetteplays8894]

Smart

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

Selling genuine and legally obtained stuff on ebay is a pain but these stolen phone and laptop sellers seems to thrive on the platform. This is magnificent

[@brandie7291]

The IMEI information was enlightening but as also with new knowledge, left me feeling stupid! I’ve had phones that I couldn’t pay on that people could have stolen or I could have sold and would have probably wound up in China with all my information stolen or hacked. Thankful for this! I’m not selling any of my phones 😮

[@acoffeewithsatan]

Since KZbin allows videos recruiting criminal activity, I suppose I'm also allowed to say: these crooks who are able-bodied for honest work yet prefer to steal from others, oftentimes coming unprossecuted, would benefit from a dose of popular justice when caught.

[@jimtheedcguy4313]

As a former AT&T employee, I had a couple come in to open a business account using fake credentials on several occasions and I always wondered what they did with the phones!

[@anned8634]

likely they used the accounts for credit card fraud as most credit card companies will track the cell phone of these people if they get the information on the phones. they then give the information to the feds. the really dumb criminal use there home computers to do credit card fraud and are tracked by there IP address. cell phone also have a type of IP address that can be tracked.

[@solomonrivers5639]

How are phishing kits not referred to as “tackle boxes”??

[@quesokid4959]

The segment transitions give off serious clandestine ops vibes. Freakin cool, keep it up.

[@soumenghose9597]

0:25 Now thats a sleek way to start sponsor segment !

[@KrisFireX]

There's a street in my town called 'smelly alley', it's no longer than 100 yards. There are 14 used phone/accessory/repair shops on that street, literally next to eachother. If that's not some kind of money laundering/fence racket then I don't know. The shops are seemingly always empty

[@KrisFireX]

FFS why are my replies to this keep getting deleted?! Look up Union Street Reading phone shop. They list 11 in results but I've counted 14 They can't all be legit businesses

[@sabrinatscha2554]

@Kris Fire KZbin tweaked its algorithms in recent months to target certain clusters of words that they don’t want people saying. Not words that imply violence or curse words, just ordinary words you find in the dictionary.

[@imeowmeowkat]

I clicked this video specifically because you made it, I didn't expect to be engaged with the topic that much but goddamn I keep underestimating you. Another banger, Mr. Sociable

[@michellea.2455]

I was just at the ACL festival this past weekend. Always kept my phone in check and bag. I had no clue this was a thing, good thing it didn’t get stolen

[@mikefine619]

I keep my phone in my front pocket at all times, unless it's in my hands, which makes it a little more difficult to steal it. Of course some people don't have pockets on their clothes (which lots of people hate and think should change) so that's not always something you can do. Only time I had my phone stolen I got mugged.

[@NotSure109]

That has changed. You just need to actually buy the pants with pockets. No one's stopping anyone, it's 100% an issue of consumer behaviour.

[@avelynn5976]

​@@NotSure109 no it's not lmao people being careless doesn't put the responsibility of entire fucking crime rings on them.

[@NotSure109]

@@avelynn5976 I don't disagree, I never said otherwise.

[@user-ru6mq5sc5n]

Your actually a person with a brain.

[@damnpir]

It may be 3 am but I can never resist clicking one of your videos. Looks like I won't be sleeping for at least another half hour

[@samuelesparza9156]

no sleep for at least another 34 minutes and 10 seconds

[@derpmcgerp8062]

Night owl gang 😤

[@derpmcgerp8062]

Night owl gang 😤

[@ZOIMIBiIE]

It’s not as easy as looking at a map to find the real location/address. There’s a convoluted algorithm that offsets maps if you’re outside of China. The map data won’t actually match up to the geographical data. I’ve heard about it a few times, but I think Half As Interesting had a video breaking down the wave tops.

[@SecretSauceyjuice]

So they could be in a different location than the one shown, but still all in the same location.

[@suncat530]

and you probably can figure out real location by looking at satellite data instead of the map provided by China

[@ZOIMIBiIE]

@@SecretSauceyjuice sort of. Apple and Google and all the map providers follow this law by China. And I’m not sure how it effects positional GPS datas. So it would either be 1- positional data is altered, over an altered map. Or 2- positional data is accurate, but where it is differs than on the map. I know that in China, the maps all work, because the few government approved map makers have the algorithms applied. Those same approved companies are regulated by the Chinese government as well.

[@ZOIMIBiIE]

@@suncat530 satellite only provides imagery. Maybe some lat/long positional data. There’s still some other information required for the “whole picture” there. And what satellite do you use? Google? The same google who follows the Chinese mapping laws? It takes all of 3 seconds to do a minimal amount of looking.. it’s called “Map Management Regulation” of 2015. It’s apart of Chinese national security so it’s not just something I pulled out of my ass

[@marcoling2173]

I don't believe that's the case. The map in China is shifted only for the satellite image, the normal maps are typically fine. If you go on Google maps, you will see the normal map is accurate but the satellite image does not match, and for Apple systems, they will automatically switch to a map provided by a Chinese company once you scroll your map over to China.

[@peachnkey]

this is such an interesting video and such an interesting topic :D very well handled! thanks for making it!

[@johnnyfrankenstein0123]

that was genuinely the smoothest sponsor transition i've ever seen. my jaw is borderline unhinging and my mouth is wide open from shock

[@KevinSavageTV]

I used to work in in the Genius Bar in one of the Apple Stores in NYC, as a technician.... its insane all the different schemes that we would encounter. We couldn't do a whole lot most of the time even though we knew these folks were "non end users" aka resellers.

[@Dwall44]

What were some of the most popular ones you encountered? And also the less popular? I’d love to hear about all of it.

[@Miss__Fancy]

@@Dwall44I work for a major phone carrier and we get SO many requests to unlock iPhones from china. We decline all of them but it’s insane. I’ve had someone emailing me for the past 2 weeks and they’ve requested over 10 unlock codes for different blocked iPhone 13 Pro Max handsets.

[@justanormaluser1535]

I’m a repair tech in Europe. I deal with this every day and we need to Clarify something here: 1. There are many legitimate reasons why a phone might be locked. Examples: returned goods from customers (incredibly common), simply lost account details (elderly), shared devices, broken or recycled phones that didn’t get removed 2. The demand for stolen parts only exists because of Apple - Apple is very anti repair. They sell just a few parts for a very very very high price, making it completely uneconomical to repair - people still want repair, so they buy locked phones for parts This issue would drastically change if Apple: - stopped preventing repair - started selling parts for a fair price - implemented a lock that’s active, not passive. Right now it is always on when the device is erased. Instead it should be on for 60 days. During this time the owner can report it as stolen. If so it remains locked. If not, it gets removed and can be reused.

[@user-cd4bx6uq1y]

The problem is that devices being stolen is a mere publicity issue for the company

[@cassidymugadza]

Another factor that you forgot is that carriers in some countries don't blacklist stolen bad esn or blacklisted imei numbers on their networks because they are fighting and scrambling for subscribers so if a phone is blacklisted or reported stolen on one network it will work on another network in the same country because the network carrier wants to increase their subscriber numbers so it just boils down to profits you don't even have to export the phone to another country you just switch networks. I have lost so many phones over the years to theft.

[@GDrake24]

Thank you! I have rewatched all of your other videos so many times that I was starting to know them by heart... And I don't regret any of it. Your content is premium

[@milaana4503]

I remember one day I was walking home. Two sketchy guys rode by me on a motorcycle and I just knew in my heart that something was gonna go down. I pulled out my keys and held them in between my fingers in case I needed to defend myself. They turned the bike around and parked beside me and one of them jumped off with a knife. I threw my purse on the ground and ran. Phone and wallet stolen that day but I could cancel my cards and buy a new phone. I can’t buy back the peace of mind I lost that day. I can’t buy back the ability to walk on the street without being afraid for those that followed my mugging. All that violence and chaos for a freaking phone.

[@franny6221]

a couple months ago i was in a bus coming home from class, late at night, i took my phone out to text my parents where i was and the second i send the message they snatch my phone from my hands and everyone in the bus except for like 2 ppl run away. All of that for a fucking mid ass phone. I couldnt take the bus without panicking for weeks.

[@franny6221]

i got the same phone but its been months and every time someone gets close to me in the bus my heart starts racing and i clutch my phone (i made a secondary phone just in case this experience happens again, so at least my main phone wont get stolen again =/)

[@GasPipeJimmy]

Diversity can have a high price sometimes

[@Morphoidism]

@@GasPipeJimmy Bro...

[@MisterGort]

This is a great video! I don’t understand why I didn’t get any notification that it was uploaded. Even though I’m subscribed with the bell turned on. 🤷‍♀️

[@SgtBarrel]

Holy crap the bad ESN fraud is insane I never knew stuff like this was going on thank you for this video

[@TedCruzisthezodiac]

Uploads at 2am. The man knows his audience.

[@TheDeadAlewives]

This video definitely taught me two things: avoid music festivals, and never use eBay (two things I’ve already made a history of not doing).

[@WGK90]

This sounds very boring.

[@mansendwish]

I'm coming to your house to teach you a lesson about not enjoying music festivals or using eBay

[@mansendwish]

I'm coming to your house to teach you a lesson about not enjoying music festivals or using eBay

[@farrahupson]

I can't speak to music festivals, but eBay is generally a good marketplace for most categories of items. I've been buying and selling on eBay for over 20 years and only have a couple of negative experiences. That being said, I don't and wouldn't buy (or sell) expensive electronics there. Luxury goods can be sketchy if you don't know what you're doing, although eBay seems to be more reliable than some sites that claim to guarantee authenticity.

[@TheDeadAlewives]

@@farrahupson I generally make it a rule that if I’m buying expensive electronics, I’m never getting it used anyways.

[@caliado]

This needs to be broadcast far and wide

[@perpetualjon]

Fantastic article and great job on the research! Very eye-opening about eBay practices. I hope someone from there was watching because this does not look good for them!

[@ohs_baba-yaga8698]

Absolutely love your videos barely, been waiting for another and now I get my dose of dopamine.

[@TimothyWenger]

My favorite mystery/horror I guess KZbinrs to watch late night are nexpo, reignbot, barely sociable, nick crowley and ewu crime. I genuinely feel happy when these channels upload!

[@Keen-eye]

Oh man that Audible segue was masterclass

[@parsaledm]

Every time I lose my phone for more than 3 days, your thumbnail is first thing that comes to mind