How to bypass Activation screen on Verizon Iphone 5?

I bought a new iphone 5 on craigslist and when i went to the verizon to hook it up they told me that they can't because he didn't activated it, now verizon say they can't do nothing and apple said they can't do nothing. The person who sold it to is not picking up the phone. Now i'm stuck with the activation screen that is asking me for billing information and las 4 digits of Social Security.

If the phone wasn't activated by previous owner, what is the problem with activating it now? Talk to a different rep.

The device should be able to activate fine without the original owner, HOWEVER, it normally doesn't ask for billing info and last 4 of social. What you have there are signs of a blocked phone. The seller sold you a phone that has a bad ESN. Either he/she did not pay the bill or cancelled the line when getting the phone and did not pay off the ETF (early termination fee).

You can either sell the phone as is or persist on getting in contact with the seller to get your money back.

I ran into a case like this one time, I think I got lucky. I was able to get enough info on the seller who sold me a bad ESN phone. He had not paid the bill or ETF, I assumed. I googled his e-mail address and phone number. I got info on his poorly secured social networking profiles such as what city he lives in, what kind of cars he owns, saved his profile pictures… I threatened to report him and submit all the info to track him down.

He never responded. Next day? Suddenly my phone was able to connect to my Verizon line. Coincidence? Not sure but for an entire week I struggled with it before I threatened to report him…

Anyhow, do the best you can. There may be some hope for you.