The menace of phone thefts

You’re walking on a street and someone snatches your phone. What should you do next?

Transcript

00:00It happens in a matter of seconds but it could cause you loss of data, money and even put

00:10your life in danger.

00:11I am talking about phone theft.

00:22In India, about 50,000 phones are stolen every month according to government estimates.

00:27Viral videos show unsuspecting people walking on the street or going about their business

00:32when some bike-borne person suddenly smashes their phone.

00:35In several instances, phones were stolen from passengers on trains as well.

00:39This one time, the passengers got the thief who was left hanging from the train.

00:44But where do these stolen phones go?

00:46Stolen phones are often resold in local black markets or through online platforms, sometimes

00:51after being wiped clean or reprogrammed with new identification numbers.

00:56According to a Times of India report, snatchers, thieves and robbers sell stolen phones to

01:01mobile shop owners at discounted prices.

01:05In some cases, some of these stolen phones are even smuggled out of the country where

01:09tracking systems are less effective.

01:11Sometimes, phones are dismantled and their accessories are sold.

01:15But if this happens, the chances of recovering a phone reduce drastically.

01:20The demand for second-hand smartphones, especially high-end models like iPhones or flagship

01:24Androids fuels this cycle of theft.

01:27If you are buying a phone, you can check if it was stolen.

01:31First, check the phone's IMEI number, which is a unique identification number that every

01:36device has.

01:37You can check it by dialing star, hash, 06, hash.

01:42You can then use the Central Equipment Identity Register website or mobile apps to verify

01:48if the IMEI number of a device is blacklisted or reported stolen.

01:53On CEIR, anyone who's had their phone stolen can go and report it by adding the IMEI number

02:00of their device on the portal.

02:02The IMEI number will be blocked within 24 hours, making sure no one else can use the

02:07device.

02:08If anyone tries to insert a new SIM to the phone, the network provider will get notified

02:13and they will inform the police and the owner of the stolen phone about it.

02:17According to the CEIR website, more than 21 lakh phones were blocked and more than 12

02:22lakh were traced so far.

02:31If your phone gets stolen, you can file a first information report as soon as possible

02:35after the theft.

02:37You can do this at the nearest police station or in some states through online government

02:41portals.

02:42You will need to provide some details like the IMEI number of the phone, make and model,

02:47and the circumstances of the theft.

02:49Once the FIR is lodged, the police can inform the telecom companies and ensure that the

02:54phone is blacklisted and unusable.