Say you were standing on the corner all day selling hotdogs or something. In the middle of the day you notice a new, fancy, droid-phone sitting on the sidewalk. No one picks it up or checks it out all day (hypothetically) and so at the end of the day you pick it up yourself or take it home.
How would you go about finding the original owner?
If you could not find the original owner, would there be any *legal* ramifications for keeping/activating/selling it?
If it was reported lost and someone tried to activate it, what would happen?
2013-05-05T16:34:07Z
The phone is locked. My first instinct is to give it back, that's why I ask. Could verizon somehow trace it back to the original owner if I brought it in to them?
who WAS #1?2013-05-05T18:46:08Z
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Yes, Verizon knows who it sold the phone to. They would probably not tell you who that is but if you are willing to leave your contact info, they will tell the owner how to get with you.
You should (hypothetically) turn it on (charge it if it's dead) and go into the contacts. Find something like "Mum" or just pick a random name; ring it and let them know you've found this phone and ask what you should do with it or if they would like to come and collect it off you. So basically, do the right thing. If you can't do that then hand it into your local police station or one near where you found it but keep hold of it for a few days in case you notice someone come by looking for it.
Sure, nothing is stopping you from selling or keeping it but that's a bad thing to do and (hypothetically) you'd feel guilty. (And even if you kept it, you'd probably be caught eventually).
If the owner tries to locate the phone through GPS or the police station it will be redirected there once you activated it just relax and explained what happened and then try calling his/her contacts and explain to them one by one
if it is not password protected go to recent calls and call one of the recent numbers. they are usually more reliable people to help you find the owner.