Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Major U.S. Carriers Agree to Develop Centralized Database to Track Stolen Mobile Phones
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Truly excellent news ....
Now, all the people I'm angry with and want to pay back for something? I can just call and report their phone stolen so it gets shut off and rendered useless!
Now, all the people I'm angry with and want to pay back for something? I can just call and report their phone stolen so it gets shut off and rendered useless!
That wouldn't be possible.
You would only be able to block a device that has been registered/used with your carrier's account.
If you sold a phone and then did that (I'm not sure why you would), then you'd be breaking the law and it would catch up with you eventually.
Is it, the software on a phone controls the whole phone including sending the imei, and if that is the case then the firmware could be hacked, probably very hard to do but theoretically can be done.
I was just making a point ....
If your partner has a cellphone, there's a real good chance you can get access to his/her account information, to do such a thing. Just wait and see how often this comes up in divorce battles or bad breakups!
If your partner has a cellphone, there's a real good chance you can get access to his/her account information, to do such a thing. Just wait and see how often this comes up in divorce battles or bad breakups!
Carriers can already track you easily if so they wish. Or the Police. If you don't want to be tracked, just leave your cell phone at home.
CDMA is non-world-standard. So incentive to steal a CDMA device is really low.
That's your business to ensure that the seller has a clean record. If in doubt, just don't buy. It's not as if there were only a few iPhone to sell on eBay. CL can be a treasure, but most often, it's junk. I would never trust a high-value transaction to stem from CL unless I have a gun at my side.unless you dropped $200-300 on ebay or CL in which case you would be a victim.
More seriously, one just can't wait to see Canada follow suit. At the rate my country is moving on telephony issues, we'll see when I get grey hair (red-haired guys never grey out
) If we eventually follow suit, I know a guy in a black SUV next to the subway station who will have to file for bankrupcy .Even police doesn't want to track stolen phones although they have the technology and legal power to do so, arguing that since it is stolent, there's a high chance they would find an "innocent" person, the one who bought the stolen phone. (true story)
My concern is that individuals can't access the database themselves. If IMEI is burnt-in the phone, there's no way it could be changed. How can an individual seller on eBay prove his merchandise isn't stolen?
Only when you call or email and get a positive or negative answer, not the actual imei ID
Although this list does sound like a good idea. In reality it will just end up hurting two people. The original victim and the person buying the stolen phone thinking it is legitimate. Sure you can check a database. However the vast majority of people won't know of the database. If they do they won't know how to check.
So this can hurt legitimate used phone sales as well. As people will not want to risk the possibility of screwing up the checking and buying a stolen phone or buying one that clears which has not yet been stolen.
Thieves would likely take the tact of selling quicker before the owner realizes it was stolen or missing rather than misplaced. They would eventually get longer lead times as owners would wait longer to report a missing phone. In case they find it later.
So this can hurt legitimate used phone sales as well. As people will not want to risk the possibility of screwing up the checking and buying a stolen phone or buying one that clears which has not yet been stolen.
Thieves would likely take the tact of selling quicker before the owner realizes it was stolen or missing rather than misplaced. They would eventually get longer lead times as owners would wait longer to report a missing phone. In case they find it later.
In the roughly 6 years since the system was introduced here, I've never heard of anything like that.
This is too funny, the standards have had an EIR part of the network (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_Switching_Subsystem#Equipment_identity_register_.28EIR.29 and has been part of the GSM standards from the start, in the USA, since they went with CDMA, the handset has a hard coded IMEI equivalent and have been able to block stolen handsets too. It's just they have not done so in the past, as a handset on the network gets them revenue.
Sounds like the government has forced them to actually enforce the use of an EIR and block stolen handsets.
About time and good to see
By the way, an EIR can see if there is duplicate IMEI on the network and can just block all the handsets that are cloned. They also know every time you swap your SIM into another phone and what SIMs you use in your phone too.
I have worked on this equipment for the last 10 years and from first hand experience, the rest of the world has been using it from the start.
In Oz, it was enforced by the ACCC about 8yrs ago. The UK has also been enforcing the blocking of stolen handsets for about the same amount of time too.
Sounds like the government has forced them to actually enforce the use of an EIR and block stolen handsets.
About time and good to see
By the way, an EIR can see if there is duplicate IMEI on the network and can just block all the handsets that are cloned. They also know every time you swap your SIM into another phone and what SIMs you use in your phone too.
I have worked on this equipment for the last 10 years and from first hand experience, the rest of the world has been using it from the start.
In Oz, it was enforced by the ACCC about 8yrs ago. The UK has also been enforcing the blocking of stolen handsets for about the same amount of time too.
This could be an issue, but I don't think that people "handling stolen goods" are top of my concerns right now.
Testing the device itself would be a good indicator - as would asking for packaging, proof of purchase etc. If someone's just selling you a phone with no charger or packaging, something's fishy.
As an aside, I don't think the database would be made available to the general public for privacy reasons.
Last edited:
A VIN would be more useful than your plate number which is easy for a thief to swap. Answer is still the same of course...
Heck, cell phones wouldn't work if the carriers didn't know what towers they hit (which are only so accurate anyhow). That's the magic of how cell phones work. Carriers can have been able to track (log) usage from day one.
unless you dropped $200-300 on ebay or CL in which case you would be a victim.
This is why it is safer to use systems like Pay Pal that offer insurance of goods before payment is released to the seller.
True, and in this case the IMEI is akin to the VIN -- giving your phone number would be like giving your license plate.
.
Don't underestimate thieves. Gangs will start buying them, and people will know where they can get cash for them, and they'll get bartered internationally for another blacklisted commodity. Too easy to get caught on Craigslist, only small timers would go there, and that's not gonna cut into the real trading of these things.
FINALLY!!!!
Had 3 iPhones stolen, no doubt already in use by some unsuspecting eBay buyer
Hopefully this will curb the smart phone theft that is so rampant.
Had 3 iPhones stolen, no doubt already in use by some unsuspecting eBay buyer
Hopefully this will curb the smart phone theft that is so rampant.
It's nice to see the carriers doing something right for a change.
While find my iPhone is nice, this added layer makes stealing phones less desirable which is always a Plus for us smartphone users
While find my iPhone is nice, this added layer makes stealing phones less desirable which is always a Plus for us smartphone users
Time to be more diligent on Craigslist and ebay. There are going to be a lot of upset customers who didn't do their homework.
Greedy Bast##ds
This is a process that was in place along time ago.Alongggggg time ago)
Its just that att and apple are double dipping. Both are profiting off of stollen iPhones.
Slimy Greedy Bast##ds. About a year and a half ago my iPhone was stollen and after filing a police report and getting all kinds of bald face lies from apple and ATT about how they have never heard of a blacklist database. Nothing ever happened. (they could have though)
Finally I hope that this really will come to pass. Its just funny that so many people don't know that this has been going on.
Sad Times (Greedy Big Companies)
This is a process that was in place along time ago.Alongggggg time ago)
Its just that att and apple are double dipping. Both are profiting off of stollen iPhones.
Slimy Greedy Bast##ds. About a year and a half ago my iPhone was stollen and after filing a police report and getting all kinds of bald face lies from apple and ATT about how they have never heard of a blacklist database. Nothing ever happened. (they could have though)
Finally I hope that this really will come to pass. Its just funny that so many people don't know that this has been going on.
Sad Times (Greedy Big Companies)