Why do Mobiles still get stolen?

Mutter · 05/08/14 - 14:18

When they are blocked straight away. Is there a use for them?

balthasar · 05/08/14 - 14:24

It might be a case of steal now and think later!

Mutter · 05/08/14 - 14:28

balthasar wrote: »

It might be a case of steal now and think later!

Thought there may be some way of getting round the block. Though Orange assured me there is no way. So annoying when iPhone stolen and everything on it, and of no use to anyone.

Fish_and_Chips · 05/08/14 - 14:30

Mutter wrote: »

When they are blocked straight away. Is there a use for them?

Blocked in Europe, but I remember a TV programme years ago saying parts of Africa and some other countries stolen ones could be unlocked.

[Deleted User] · 05/08/14 - 14:50

Mutter wrote: »

When they are blocked straight away. Is there a use for them?

Some people go to certain people to get the phone unblocked.

Pumping Iron · 05/08/14 - 15:01

You can get phones unblocked and many stolen phones will end up out of the country.

Maxatoria · 05/08/14 - 15:13

Not everyone blocks their phone when its lost/stolen, if it was a £20 job you'll just get another one as it'll be virtually worthless if its a payg one with about 50p in credit on it

Nilrem · 05/08/14 - 15:32

As has been said not every country actually subscribes to the IMEA blocking list (IIRC America doesn't and is only now taking steps to be able to reliably block mobiles stolen inside the US), especially in parts of the developing world.

Also some mobiles will be stolen for short term use (until they're blocked) in things like spam farms or premium rate fraud (get the phones in, use them to dial premium rate numbers, take the profit from the number scam before the networks catch on), or with modern smart phones to be broken down into parts - you can stop the phone working in the UK, but it's almost impossible to stop people from being able to take the screens, casing etc to use to repair other phones (a new screen can cost £60, so if you use them in a mobile repair business you can easily make 30-40 a time just from that).

Then there is the personal data that is often stored on modern phones, things like email access, online shopping accounts all of which can be used to commit more traditional types of fraud (log into your email account, and they can find out where you shop, get password resets, order stuff to be delivered to a different address).
It's one of the reasons it's so important to not use the same password on different accounts, and to set your mobile/tablet up to require unlocking before people can use it.

Mutter · 05/08/14 - 15:36

Nilrem wrote: »

As has been said not every country actually subscribes to the IMEA blocking list (IIRC America doesn't and is only now taking steps to be able to reliably block mobiles stolen inside the US), especially in parts of the developing world.

Also some mobiles will be stolen for short term use (until they're blocked) in things like spam farms or premium rate fraud (get the phones in, use them to dial premium rate numbers, take the profit from the number scam before the networks catch on), or with modern smart phones to be broken down into parts - you can stop the phone working in the UK, but it's almost impossible to stop people from being able to take the screens, casing etc to use to repair other phones (a new screen can cost £60, so if you use them in a mobile repair business you can easily make 30-40 a time just from that).

Then there is the personal data that is often stored on modern phones, things like email access, online shopping accounts all of which can be used to commit more traditional types of fraud (log into your email account, and they can find out where you shop, get password resets, order stuff to be delivered to a different address).
It's one of the reasons it's so important to not use the same password on different accounts, and to set your mobile/tablet up to require unlocking before people can use it.

That got me worried so I tried ringing the phone, nothing but a weird noise.

digimon900 · 05/08/14 - 20:09

The BBC once did an investigation into phone thefts. 30 out of their 50 tracked phones they set up to get stolen had active service on it in Ghana within 10 days of the theft.

NX-74205 · 05/08/14 - 20:22

Because some people are bastards and.......oooh shiny.

HarrisonMarks · 05/08/14 - 20:41

An original Alexander Calder must be worth a fortune.

gulliverfoyle · 05/08/14 - 21:20

also can be used for bits LCD case battery etc

the IMEI is blocked but if you change the main PCB from a dropped/damged one say it will work of course

bit like 21st century version of car ringing!

Hey there!

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Why do Mobiles still get stolen?

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