There's Finally A Way To Make Your Phone Useless After It's Stolen

 

 

Kashmir Hill, Forbes Staff

Welcome to The Not-So Private Parts where technology & privacy collide

 



In a move that’s long overdue, major cell phone carriers are finally making an effort to discourage phone theft with the creation of a database that tracks stolen phones so that carriers can block them from being used on their networks. The FCC-negotiated plan, pushed by a wireless industry trade group and iPhone-robbery-weary police chiefs, was announced in April and the databases were “switched on” last week. The move was met with cries of both “ Hallelujah” and “Why did this take so long?”

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There will be a smaller incentive to steal this once stolen cellphone databases are ubiquitious

 

The database works by tracking a phone’s IMEI, a unique identification number that can’t be changed by swapping out the SIM card. As of now, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile are among the major carriers creating databases, that are separate now but will be shared and integrated in 2013 (fingers crossed). Smaller carriers Nex-Tech and Cellcom are also doing a pilot database, says Chris Guttman-McCabe, VP of regulatory affairs at CTIA, a wireless industry trade association that helped bring the database into existence. Consumers have to call up their carrier after the phone is stolen to get it added to the No-Service List.

“We want to make these devices into worthless pieces of plastic and glass once they’re stolen,” says Guttman-McCabe.

It’s great it’s finally here, but many of those who have had their phones stolen wonder why it took so long. Back in April, a bunch of iPhone users sued AT&T for “[making] millions of dollars in improper profits, by forcing legitimate customers, such as these Plaintiffs, to buy new cell phones, and buy new cell phone plans, while the criminals who stole the phone are able to simply walk into AT&T stories and ‘re-activate’ the devices, using different, cheap, readily-available ‘SIM’ cards.” Other countries, meanwhile, have had these databases for some time, as noted by the Wall Street Journal earlier this year:

Similar stolen-phone databases are already in use abroad, including in the U.K., Germany, France and Australia. The U.K. database was set up in 2002. Australia’s was set up in 2004. Crime hasn’t stopped, but the number of incidents has declined.
via U.S. Government, Carriers Plan a National Database of Stolen Cellphones – WSJ.com.

Guttman-McCabe said the delay was due in part to wanting to make sure the effort was “really comprehensive.”

“It’s not just about creating a blacklist but getting people to adopt pins and passwords and remote wipes. We want them to turn their phones into something off-the-street criminal can’t break into,” he said, noting that CTIA has a web page on cell phone security practices. “The challenge is creating a database that all streams dip into — from kiosks in malls to major retailers. We have to get a lot of players involved and given access to the database to check before giving someone service.”

Guttman-McCabe estimates that 90% of consumers and carriers are now part of this given the carriers that are on board. Obviously, that means cell phone thieves will be gravitating toward the uninvolved carriers when it comes to seeking out a new cell phone plan.

What about other electronic devices? As more and more of what we own has to be connected to the Internet to be useful, is there a possibility of a world
without with very little theft? Could you brick your Xbox as soon as you realized your house had been robbed?

“We’re really focused on just the wireless,” says Guttman-McCabe. “Smartphones are easy to snatch and take. Chiefs of police wanted help with this.”