Can att tell if iphone has a current plan?

I bought an iPhone off eBay, it is locked to att which is what I wanted as my net10 sim is att locked. However I'm worried that after the 30 day return period the phones clean imei will be reported as stolen/lost. Can I ask att to verify the phone is not on an active plan? Can they tell me or am I just screwed?

If you bought the phone legitimately - you have your Ebay receipts online - check with att - if it is stolen you should immediately report it to Ebay - who will refund presuming you paid by Paypal and hand the phone into the cops.

Yes AT&T can tell you if the phone is currently activated, if you give them the IMEI, which you SHOULD have done BEFORE you bought the phone.

This is important, because if the phone is still being financed, you shouldn't be able to activate it until it has been paid for in advance of you buying it, and yes, they can very well call up as the original owner of the phone and report it lost or stolen, and if that happens, that phone's IMEI will be blacklisted and you will lose the ability to continue to use that phone.

So if the deal was too good to be true, it might be a scam.