If you have a smartphone but want to upgrade to a newer model you may have been considering whether cash for cell phone offers are legit or just a scam.
There are many websites online offering money to purchase your used handset, and among them there are some scams, but many more legitimate ones.
It's important, however, to do your due diligence and research your cash for mobile buyers before you just send them your still valuable smartphone.
Many cash for mobile companies operate on a similar way: You use their website to get a valuation for your old handset and then, if you like the deal, you send them your mobile and they send you a cheque after receiving and testing your handset.
In a perfect world that would be it, but there are many scammers that would be really happy to just run away with your mobile and never pay you.
Make sure that the company who is offering to buy your mobile actually exists, has an address on your country and doesn't have a lot of scam reports filed against it.
Most companies who buy phones for cash do it so they can resell them themselves as second hand or refurbished handsets, and as such if the price offered is significantly above average that should ring alarm bells.
Many telecom companies may offer you some money for your old handset, in order to hook you into a new contract with a newer and more expensive model, but be suspicious of anybody offering you a really high price for your 3 year old mobile that isn't a clearly established brand.
And if it's a well-established brand, make sure that it's the real thing, and not a scammer trying to trick you into believing you are dealing with a respected company, in what is known as phishing.
Once you have decided who will buy your mobile, it's important to make sure to send everything tracked and to a real postal address and not an overseas P.
O.
box.
You canget relatively large amounts of money for your smartphone, so make sure you get a signed confirmation of delivery in case you need to fill a claim later.