I was intrigued by this little report from Saturday's paper. DC Police Chief Lanier points out how many of the crimes local cops deal with involve cell-phone thefts, and suggests a seemingly effective and easy solution: Phone companies should immediately disable any cell phone that is reported stolen.
Cell phone companies' collective response, via their industry lobby CTIA: Not interested. The main argument they offer is that this step wouldn't stop international trade in stolen cell phones. But that's not what Chief Lanier and other law enforcement officials are trying to stop; it's the frequent phone-focused robberies that are of concern.
I'm not sure why remotely disabling stolen phones would be an issue. The following advice has been available on the internet for some time:
To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: *#06# . A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. If your phone is stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.
Does anyone know if this is true? I've never needed to try it. If it is, it's harder still to understand CTIA recalcitrance. If people can disable their phones themselves by calling in, where is the problem? The only difference is that most people probably won't write down their cell phone identifier beforehand; the phone company could provide it easily.
CTIA members may have some conflicts here: All those robberies resut in people going out to buy replacements, and probably create a greater demand for cell phone insurance, which not coincidentally, most of the cell phone providers sell. Meanwhile the stolen phones themselves may generate demand for replacement SIM cards and other parts to make them usable again in their new home. But their ads claim that the wireless phone industry pretty much invented "freedom" (forget the Magna Carta, Thomas Jefferson and all that), so if enough customers make clear they don't necessarily want the freedom to have their phone stolen and their personal data compromised, they might make some headway.
Tried *#06# on phone. No serial number appeared, just voice telling me call could not be completed! Hmmm.
Posted by: Stssis | February 22, 2012 at 02:07 AM